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LIPPINCOTT5 
FARM  MANUALS 


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PRODUCTIVE 
ORCHARDING 

BY 

FRED  C.SEARS.M.S. 


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^Mortl;  Carolina  ^taJe  fflollege 


ih:  &  ENGINEERING 
iJUCATION 


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NORTH  CAROLINA  STATE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 


SOI  948850  Z 


^iAlc.  CoLLEGi^  v..    .......^.^fUKE  &  ENGINEERING 

DEFT.  OF  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 


Date  Due 


'  The  first  farmer  was  the  first  man.  and  all  historic 
nobility  rests  on  possession  and  use  of  land." 

— Emerson. 


LIPPINCOTT'S 

FARM  MANUALS 

EDITED     BY 
KARY  C.  DAVIS,  Ph.D.  (Cornell) 


PRODUCTIVE  ORCHARDING 

MODERN  METHODS  OF  GROWING 
AND  MARKETING  FRUIT 


By  FRED  C.  SEARS,  M.S. 

PROFESSOR  OF  POMOLOGY,  MASSACHUSETTS  AGRICULTURAL  COLLKGB 


LippiNcoTT's  Farm  Manuals 

Edited  by  K.  C.  DAVIS.  Ph.D.,  Knapp  School  of  Country  Life,  Nashville,  Tenn. 
Every  effort  is  made  to  keep  these  standard  texts  up-to-date,  and 
new  editions  are  published  and  revisions  made  whenever  necessary. 

COOPERATIVE  MARKETING  OF  FARM  PRODUCTS 

By  O.  B.  JESNESS 

PRODUCTIVE  SWINE  HUSBANDRY 

By  GEORGE  E.  DAY.  B.S.A.     Third  Edition,  Revised 

PRODUCTIVE  POULTRY  HUSBANDRY 

By  HARRY  R.  LEWIS,  M.Agr.     Fourth  Edition,  Revised  and  Enlarged 

PRODUCTIVE  HORSE  HUSBANDRY 

By  CARL  W.  GAY,  D.V.M.,  B.S.A.     Third  Edition,  Revised 
PRODUCTIVE  ORCHARDING 

By  FRED  C.  SEARS,  M.S.     Second  Edition.  Revised 

PRODUCTIVE  VEGETABLE  GROWING 

By  JOHN  W.  LLOYD,  M.S. A.     Third  Edition,  Revised 

PRODUCTIVE  FEEDING  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 

By  F.  W.  WOLL,  Ph.D.,  Third  Edition,  Revised 

COMMON  DISEASES  OF  FARM  ANIMALS 

By  R.  A.  CRAIG,  D.V.M.,  Third  Edition,  Revised 

PRODUCTIVE  FARM  CROPS 

By  E.  G.  MONTGOMERY,  M.A.     Third  Edition.  Revised 

PRODUCTIVE  BEE  KEEPING 

By  FRANK  C.  PELLETT,  Second  Edition.  Revised 

PRODUCTIVE  DAIRYING 

By  R.  M.  WASHBURN.  M.S.A.     Second  Edition,  Revised 

INJURIOUS  INSECTS  AND  USEFUL  BIRDS 

By  F.  L.  WASHBURN.  M.A. 
PRODUCTIVE  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY 

By  WALTER  C.  COFFEY,  M.A. 
PRODUCTIVE  SMALL  FRUIT  CULTURE 

By  FRED  C.  SEARS.  M.S. 
PRODUCTIVE  SOILS 

By  WILBERT  W.  WEIR,  M.S. 

LIPPINCOTT'S  COLLEGE  TEXTS 

THE  POTATO 

By  WILLIAM  STUART 

SOIL  PHYSICS  AND  MANAGEMENT 

By  J.  G.  MOSIER,  B.S..  A.  F.  GUSTAFSON,  M.S. 

FARM  LIFE  TEXT  SERIES 

FARM  ECONOMICS 

By  FRANK  APP 
APPLIED  ECONOMIC  BOTANY 

By  MELVILLE  T.  COOK,  Ph.D. 
PRODUCTIVE  PLANT  HUSBANDRY 

By  KARY  C.  DAVIS.     Second  Edition,  Revised 

HORTICULTURE  FOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

By  KARY  C.  DAVIS.    Second  Edition,  Revised 
PRODUCTIVE  SOILS  (Abridge<l  Edition) 

By  WILBERT  W.  WEIR,  M.S. 

VOCATIONAL  CHEMISTRY 
By  J.  J.  WILLAMAN 

LABORATORY  MANUALS  AND  NOTEBOOKS 

ON   THE    FOI.I. OWING    SUBJECTS 

SOILS,  By  J.  F.  EASTMAN  and  K.  C.  DAVIS        POULTRY,  By  H.  R.  LEWIS 

DAIRYING,  By  E.  L.  ANTHONY  FEEDING,  By  F.  W.  WOLL 

FARM  CROPS,  By  F.  W.  LATHROP 


LiPPiNCOTT's  Farm  Manuals 

EDITED  BY  K.  C.  DAVIS,  Ph.D. 


PRODUCTIVE 
ORCHARDING 

MODERN    METHODS    OF    GROWING 
AND   MARKETING   FRUIT 


BY 

FRED  C.  SEARS,  M.S. 

(Kansas  State  Agricultural  College) 

PROFESSOR  OF  POMOLOGY,  MASSACHUSETTS  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 


167  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  TEXT 


"If  vain  our  toil, 
We  ought  to  blame  the  culture,  not  the  soil." 

Pope — Essay  on  Man 


THIRD   EDITION,  REVISED 


PHILADELPHIA  &  LONDON 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1914,  BV  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 
COPYRIGHT,  1917,  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 
COPYRIGHT,  1923,  BY  J.   B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


Electrotype^  and  pruiteri  by  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company 
The  Washington  Square  Press,  Philadelphia,   U.  S.  A. 


To 
ROBERT  W.  STARR 


POMOLOGIST,  ADVISER  AND  FRIEND, 
THIS    BOOK  IS  DEDICATED    BY 


THE  AUTHOR 


<. 


\<^^  1775(> 


PREFACE 

Probably  every  teacher  who  studies  along  any  one  line  for  a 
series  of  years  becomes  convinced  that  he  has  learned  things  that 
■would  be  of  value  to  men  in  this  line  of  work. 

The  writer  offers  this  excuse  for  writing  the  present  book,  and 
perhaps  the  further  justification  might  be  added  that  for  a 
number  of  years  he  has  had  charge  of  a  relatively  large  orchard 
where  he  believes  that  he  has  sifted  out  his  theories  and  discarded 
those  that  "  won't  work."  He  hopes  that  this  belief  will  be 
shared  by  any  who  may  attempt  to  follow  his  directions,  and 
that  the  book  may  prove  a  real  help  in  solving  some  of  the 
problems  which  every  orchard  owner,  whether  experienced  or  in- 
experienced, is  certain  to  encounter. 

The  writer  also  ventures  to  hope  that  the  book  may  be  helpful 
to  instructors  as  a  text  for  class  use.  He  has  attempted  to  cut 
out  the  non-essentials  and  to  present  the  essentials  in  a  reason- 
ably brief  manner  and  yet  with  sufificient  detail  to  be  followed 
easily  when  one  attempts  to  put  them  into  practice. 

Fred  C.  Sears 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  College, 
Amherst,  January  1,   1914. 

Editor's  Note. 

This  book  is  suited  to  tlie  needs  of  College  and  Short  Course  Classes. 
Its  practical  nature  as  Avell  as  its  philosophical  treatment  makes  it  a  book  to 
be  desired  by  both  fruit  grower  and  student.  High  schools  and  special 
agricultural  schools  devoting  some  time  to  the  particular  study  of  horti- 
culture will  find  in  this  book  the  themes  for  their  most  profitable  con- 
sideration. 

The  reader  will  be  favorably  impressed  with  the  spirit  of  the  writer 
throughout,  particularly  on  questions  where  authorities  may  differ;  the 
vigor  and  novelty  of  treatment  are  refreshing  to  those  who  are  familiar 
with  older  works  on  the  subject. 


PREFACE  TO  THIRD  EDITION 

It  is  now  nine  years  since  the  first  edition  of  Productive 
Orcliarding  was  pnblislied,  and  the  changes  which  have  developed 
in  the  methods  and  ideals  of  fruit  growers  during  that  time,  and 
which  are  embodied  in  the  revisions  of  this  present  and  the 
former  editions,  have  certainly  been  both  interesting  and  striking. 
Any  live  industry  changes,  and  judged  by  this  standard  tlie  fruit 
growing  industry  must  be  very  much  alive. 

The  most  conspicuous  changes  are  in  connection  with  the  three 
operations  of  fertilizing,  pruning  and  spraying.  This  is  just 
where  one  w^ould  expect  to  find  them,  since  these  are  three  of  the 
most  important  of  all  operations  connected  with  the  growing 
of  fruit,  and  much  time  and  thought  and  energy  and  experimenta- 
tion are  devoted  to  advancing  our  knowledge  and  perfecting  our 
methods  in  these  three  major  lines  of  fruit  work. 

Fred  C.  Sears. 
Amherst,  Massachusetts, 
April  25,  1923. 


CONTENTS 


CBAPTEB  PAGE 

I.     The  Outlook  for  Orcharding 1 

II.     Orchard  Lands 8 

III.  Selecting  Varieties  and  Buying  Nursery  Stock 24 

IV.  Establishing  the  Orchard 44 

V.    Cropping  the  Orchard 66 

VI.    Orchard  Culture 77 

VII.    Orchard  Implements 91 

VIII.    Fertilizers  100 

IX.    Cover  Crops 108 

X.     Pruning 119 

XI.     Orchard  Insects 142 

XII.    Diseases  op  Fruit  Trees 163 

XIII.  Spraying  Apparatus 175 

XIV.  Spraying  Materials 189 

XV.    The  Spraying  Campaign 201 

XVI.     Renovating  Old  Orchards 212 

XVII.    Picking  and  Handling  Fruit 229 

XVIII.     Storing  Fruit 245 

XIX.    Grading  and  Packing 258 

XX.     Marketing 277 

XXI.     Advertising 287 

XXII.    Laws  Affecting  Orcharding 298 

Index 311 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIG,  PAGE 

A  Profitable  Baldwin  Apple  Tree Frontispiece 

1.  One  Reason  Why  Orcharding  Will  Not  be  Overdone! 3 

2.  Another  Reason  WTiy  Orcharding  Will  Not  be  Overdone 5 

3.  Still  Another  Reason  Why  Orcharding  Will  Not  be  Overdone 6 

4.  A  Good  Orchard  Country 11 

5.  An  Ideal  Country  for  Orchard 13 

6.  Northern  Spy  Apple 26 

7.  A  Baldwin  Apple 28 

8.  Yellow  Bellflower  Apple 39 

9.  Nursery  Tree  with  a  Poor  Fork 41 

10.  A  Nursery  Tree  That  Is  too  Heavy 41 

11.  Finishing  the  Land  with  a  Flanker  Before  Beginning  to  Lay  off  the 

Orchard 46 

12.  Diagram  Showing  Method  of  Lajnng  off  a  Field  for  Planting  an 

Orchard 48 

13.  Diagram  for  Measuring  Boards.     Drawn  to  Scale 49 

14.  Staking  off  Orchard  by  Means  of  Two  Measuring  Boards 50 

15.  Planting  Board  for  Locating  Tree  in  Setting 50 

16.  Heeling  in  Nursery  Stock 51 

17.  A  Load  of  Nursery  Trees  Ready  for  the  Setting  Gang 52 

18.  Gang  of  Men  Setting  Trees 52 

19.  Ready  to  Set  a  Two  Year  Apple  Tree 54 

20.  Same  Tree  as  Shown  in  Figure  19,  Set 54 

21.  Same  Tree  as  Shown  in  Figures  19  and  20  After  Pruning 56 

22.  Pruning  a  One-year-old  "Whip  " 56 

23.  An  Extreme  Case  of  High  Heading 57 

24.  A  Low  Headed  Five-year-old  Peach  Tree 59 

25.  An  Apple  Tree  with  a  Medium  Head,  about  Thirty  Inches 60 

26.  A  Poor  Fork  on  a  Ben  Davis  Apple  Tree 60 

27.  Gravenstein  Apple  Trees  as  Permancnts  with  Cherries  as  "Fillers". .  62 

28.  Late  Potatoes  in  a  Young  Peach  Orchard 66 

29.  Soybeans  as  a  Companion  Crop 67 

30.  Pea-beans  as  an  Orchard  Crop 69 

31.  Squashes  as  an  Orchard  Crop 71 

32.  Potatoes  in  a  Bearing  Apple  Orchard 72 

33.  Strawberries  in  a  Young  Peach  Orchard 74 

34.  Clean  Cultivation  in  an  Old  Renovated  Orchard 78 

35.  Mowing  the  Grass  in  a  Sod  Orchard 79 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

36.  A  Tree  Girdled  by  Mice  and  Saved  by  Bridge  Grafting 82 

37.  A  Compromi.se  Method  of  Handling  the  Land  in  the  Orchard,  Sod 

Along  the  Tree  Rows  and  Cultivation  Between 89 

38.  A  Gang  of  Three  Eight-inch  Plows 93 

39.  A  Disc  Plow  for  Orchard  Work 94 

40.  The  Acme  Harrow 96 

41.  Orchard  Cultivator  with  Heavy,  Rigid  Teeth 96 

42.  Light  Draft  Orchard  Cultivator 97 

43.  Grape-hoe  at  Work  in  Young  Orchard 98 

44.  Crimson  Clover  as  a  Cover  Crop 110 

45.  Buckwheat  as  a  Cover  Crop 114 

46.  Young  Apple  Tree  Started  on  Wrong  Road  by  Bad  Pruning 119 

47.  An  Apple  Fruit  Spur 120 

48.  Pear  Branch  Well  SuppUed  with  Fruit  Spurs 121 

49.  Young  Peaches  Just  Set 122 

50.  Spurs  of  the  European  Pliun 123 

51.  Cherry  Spurs 123 

52.  Blossoms  of  Japanese  Plum 124 

53.  Blossoms  of  Eviropean  Plum 125 

54.  Cherries  Just  Set 125 

55.  Sutton  Apple  Tree 127 

56.  Bradshaw  Plum  Tree 127 

57.  Burbank  Plum  Tree 129 

58.  Well-shaped  Baldwin  Apple  Tree 130 

59.  Two-edged  Saw 131 

60.  Good  Saw  for  Small  Trees 132 

61.  Excellent  Saw  for  Heavy  Pruning 132 

62.  Good  Saw  for  Ordinary  Pruning 132 

63.  Excellent  Type  of  Pruning  Shears 133 

64.  Good  Tjrpe  of  Pruning  Knife 134 

65.  Good  Combination  Knife 134 

66.  Long  Stub  Left  in  Pruning 138 

67.  Old  Stub  Beginning  to  Decay 138 

68.  A  Well-made  Wound 139 

69.  A  Well-made  Wound  Beginning  to  Heal 139 

70.  A  Well-made  Wound  That  Has  Entirely  Healed  Over 139 

71.  Scab,  or  Black-spot  of  the  Apple 166 

72.  Apple  Canker 168 

73.  Black-knot  of  the  Plum 172 

74.  Plum  Tree  Badly  Affected  with  Black-knot 173 

75.  Same  Plum  Tree,  after  Knots  Have  Been  Cut  Out 173 

76.  Using  Bucket  Pimap  on  a  Bearing  Apple  Tree 175 

77.  Knapsack  Sprayer 176 

78.  Barrel  Outfit  with  Collapsible  Ladder 177 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

79.  Barrel  Spray  Outfit  with  Two  Extra  Barrels  of  Water 178 

80.  Large,  Double-action,  Hand  Pump  with  200-gallon  Tank 180 

81.  Gas  Power  Sprayer 181 

82.  Gasolene  Power  Outfit 182 

83.  Small  Gasolene  Power  Sprayer 183 

84a.  Old  Style  of  Vermorel  Nozzle 184 

846.  Angle  Vermorel  Nozzle 184 

85a.  Bordeau.x  Nozzle 185 

856.  Disc  Nozzle 185 

86.  Long-  and  Short-tailed  Hose  Couplings 186 

87.  Spray  Injury  on  Apples 191 

88.  Proper  Condition  of  Apple  Blossoms  for  Spraying  Before  They  Open  205 

89.  Gravenstein  Apples  Sprayed  for  Scab 207 

90.  Gravenstein  Apples  Not  Sprayed 207 

91.  Good  Type  of  Tree  for  Renovating 213 

92.  Rather  Difficult  Tree  to  Renovate,  One  Which  Will  Require  Several 

Years  to  Work  Over 214 

93.  Difficult  Type  of  Tree  to  Renovate,  but  One  Which  Has  Little 

Value  as  it  Stands 214 

94.  Poor  Type  of  Orcharding  for  Renovating 215 

95.  Old  Orchard  Before  Work  of  Renovating  Began 218 

96.  Same  Orchard,  after  Three  Years'  Treatment 218 

97.  Beginning  Work  of  Renovating  an  Old  Apple  Tree 220 

98.  Same  Tree,  After  Three  Years'  Treatment 220 

99.  Old  Apple  Tree  Before  Beginning  Renovation 221 

100.  Same  Tree,  De-horned  After  One  Year's  Treatment 221 

101.  Same  Tree,  After  One  Season's  Growth 222 

102.  Same  Tree,  After  Three  Years'  Treatment 222 

103.  Trunk  of  a  Tree  Damaged  by  Too  Much  Nitrogen 223 

104.  An  Orchard  Damaged  by  Too  Much  Nitrogen 224 

105.  An  Old,  Neglected  Orchard  W^hen  Renovation  Was  Begun 226 

106.  Same  Orchard,  After  Five  Years'  Treatment 227 

107.  A  Pau-  of  Thinning  Shears 229 

108.  Boys  Thinning  Japanese  Plums 230 

109.  Branch  of  Apple  Tree  That  Was  Thinned  Twice 231 

110.  Boys  Thinning  Apples 232 

111.  Picking  Cherries 234 

112.  A  Good  Picking  Basket 235 

113.  Poor  Type  of  Picking  Basket  for  Frui',  Yet  One  Often  Used 235 

114.  Picking  Apples  Into  Bags 236 

115.  Picking  Apples  from  Well-loaded  Trees 238 

116.  Peaches  Picked  into  Oak  Picking  Baskets 240 

117.  Attacking  an  Old-timer 241 

118.  A  Load  of  Apples  on  the  W^ay  to  Market 242 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

119.  Distributing  Barrels  in  the  Apple  Orchard 243 

120.  A  Good  Type  of  Farm  Storage  House 249 

121.  Storage  Building  at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 252 

122.  Type  of  Apple  Storage  House  Found  in   the  Annapolis  Valley, 

Nova  Scotia 253 

123.  Diagram  of  Cross-section  of  Walls  of  Storage  House  in  Figure  122. .   254 

124.  An  Attractive  Face  to  a  Barrel  of  Apples 261 

125.  Stemmers 262 

126.  Ordinary  Barrel  Press  with  a  Bar  Follower 263 

127.  Barrel  Press  with  Circle  Follower 263 

128.  Swing-bail  Basket  Used  in  Packing  Apples  in  Barrels 264 

129.  Face  of  a  Barrel  of  Apples  Using  19  Apples  3>^  Inches  in  Diameter  266 

130.  Face  of  a  Barrel  of  Apples  Using  27  Apples  3  Inches  in  Diameter .  .  266 

131.  Face  of  a  Barrel  of  Apples  Using  40  Apples  23-2  Inches  in  Diameter  266 

132.  Good  Type  of  Packing  Table  for  Boxing  Apples 267 

133.  Diagram  Showing  Method  of  Starting  the  2-2  Pack 268 

134.  Diagram  Showing  Method  of  Starting  the  3-2  Pack 268 

135.  Diagram  Showing  the  Arrangement  of  Apples  in  the  First  and 

Third  Layers  of  a  2-2  Box  of  Apples  with  96  Apples  in  the  Box  269 

136.  Diagram  Showing  the  Arrangement  of  Apples  in  the  Second  and 

Fourth  Layers  of  a  2-2  Box  of  Apples  with  96  Apples  in  the  Box  269 

137.  Diagram  Showing  the  Arrangement  of  Apples  in  the  First,  Third 

and  Fifth  Layers  of  a  3-2  Box  of  Apples  with  188  Apples  in  the 
Box 271 

138.  Diagram  Showing  the  Arrangement  of  Apples  in  the  Second  and 

Fourth  Layers  of  a  3-2  Box  of  Apples  with  188  Apples  in  the  Box  271 

139.  Diagram  Showing  the  "Straight"  Pack 272 

140.  A  Western  Type  of  Box  Press 273 

141.  Excellent  Type  of  Box  Press  which  Can  be  Made  at  Home 274 

142.  The  Greatest  Single  Problem  in  Marketing  Fruit  is  to  Have  Good 

Fruit 277 

143.  Boxes  of  Western  Apples 278 

144.  Pasteboard  Carton  for  Fancy  Apples 280 

145.  Climax  Peach  Basket  Used  as  a  Retail  Package  for  Apples 281 

146.  Climax  Peach  Basket  with  Cover  on 282 

147.  Splint  Basket  Used  for  Apples 283 

148.  Attractive  Package  for  the  Retail  Trade 283 

149.  Probably  the  Most  Famous  Fruit  Label  in  Use 288 

150.  Good  Type  of  Advertising  Wrapper 289 

151.  Good  Type  of  Advertising  for  Apple  Barrels 290 

152.  Excellent  "Guarantee"  Label  from  the  Pacific  Coast 291 

153.  Another  Guarantee  Label  from  an  Eastern  Orchardist 291 

154.  Outside  Cover  of  an  Advertising  Leaflet 292 

155.  A  Magazine  Advertisement  that  is  Sure  to  Attract  Attention 296 


PRODUCTIVE  ORCHARDING 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  ORCHARDING 

If  the  agricultural  history^  of  the  twentieth  century  is  ever 
written,  the  writer  believes  that  one  of  the  most  significant 
features  of  such  a  history  will  be  the  account  of  the  great 
interest  in  orcharding  which  developed  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  first  decade  of  the  century.  That  interest  is  still  at  its 
height.  Men  from  all  walks  of  life  are  turning  toward  orchard- 
ing as  the  one  branch  of  farming  in  which  they  would  like  to 
engage.  Wealthy  men  are  setting  out  orchards  (and  commercial 
orchards)  on  their  estates,  farmers  in  orchard  sections  are  en- 
larging their  fruit  plantations,  while  bank  clerks,  insurance  men, 
and  retired  ministers  are  either  investing  their  savings  in  small 
farms  which  are  to  be  set  out  to  fruit  trees,  or  have  bought  an 
interest  in  some  development  scheme  in  the  West.  No  wonder 
that  there  is  a  shaking  of  heads  among  the  conservative  element 
of  our  fruit  growers  and  a  wondering  as  to  what  the  outcome 
will  be.  No  wonder  that  even  the  most  enthusiastic  advocates  of 
orcharding  are  speculating  as  to  whether  it  may  not  be  overdone. 

A  Good  Occupation. — But  while  there  has  undoubtedly  been 
a  wonderful  interest  in  the  fruit  business  in  recent  years,  and 
while  many  who  have  gone  into  it,  without  sufficient  thought  and 
preparation,  undoubtedly  will  be  disappointed,  and  while  we 
may  even  have  to  admit  that  the  price  of  fruit  is  likely  to  de- 
cline, yet  it  still  seems  to  the  writer  that  for  the  right  man,  in 
the  right  place  and  with  the  right  methods,  the  growing  of  fniit 
offers  a  healthful  and  delightful  occupation  with  at  least  a 
reasonable  assurance  of  satisfactory  financial  returns.  Let  us 
examine  the  situation  briefly  and  see  what  ground  there  may  be 
for  such  a  belief  and  what  conditions  one  must  fulfil  if  he  ex- 
pects to  be  successful.  fttOi'^i^*  i   Lii>itAl<l' 

N.  estate <:oU«l« 


2  THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  ORCHARDING 

The  Question  of  Over-production. — To  begin  with,  are  we 
in  such  immediate  and  pressing  danger  from  over-production? 
It  is  true  that  the  papers  are  full  of  accounts  of  men  who 
liave  started  orchards;  it  is  also  true  that  any  one  who  is  sup- 
posed to  know  about  such  matters  is  besieged,  either  personally 
or  by  letter,  by  those  who  want  to  grow  fruit,  and  it  is  probably 
true  that  where  there  is  so  much  smoke  there  must  be  more  or  less 
fire.  But  the  writer  is  very  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  the 
percentage  of  smoke  is  very  large. 

Census  Figures. — There  are  various  methods  by  which  we 
may  judge  of  the  imminence  of  this  over-production  danger, 
none  of  them  perhaps  verj^  accurate  but  all  of  them  suggestive. 
The  first  consists  of  the  United  States  figures,  Uncle  Sam's  esti- 
mate on  the  subject.  If  we  take  the  question  of  apples  alone, 
which  of  course  is  the  big  end  of  the  subject,  we  find  first  that  the 
production  has  steadily  declined  since  1896.  Here  are  the  esti- 
mates from  1895  to  1911. 

1895—60,500,000  barrels  1904—45,360,000  barrels 

1896—69,000,000  barrels  1905—24,300,000  barrels 

1897—41,000,000  barrels  1906—38,280,000  barrels 

1898—28,500,000  barrels  1907—29,540,000  barrels 

1899—58,500,000  barrels  1908-25,850,000  barrels 

1900—57,000,000  barrels  1909—25,415,000  barrels 

1901—26,970,000  barrels  1910—23,825,000  barrels 

1902—46,025,000  barrels  1911—28,600,000  barrels 
1903—42,626,000  barrels 

Are  not  these  figures  tremendously  significant  and  do  they 
not  seem  to  indicate  that  it  will  be  several  years  before  we  get 
back  even  to  our  former  high-water  mark?  And  we  must  not 
forget  that  at  the  same  time  that  the  production  of  apples  has 
been  dechning  the  population  has  been  increasing,  so  that  it 
will  require  many  more  apples  than  69,000,000  barrels  to  pro- 
vide as  many  per  capita  as  we  had  in  1896. 

Another  significant  fact  along  the  same  line,  which  is  brought 
out  by  the  census  figures,  is  in  relation  to  the  apple  trees  of  the 
country.  There  were  in  1910  in  round  numbers  fifty  million  less 
bearing  apple  trees  than  in  1900  and  only  sixty-five  million  trees 


SOME  ORCHARDS  ABANDONED  3 

not  yet  in  bearing.  So  that  when  all  the  trees  in  the  country 
in  1910  had  come  into  bearing,  there  would  be  only  fifteen  million 
more  than  in  1900,  provided  no  trees  died  in  the  meantime.  But 
every  one  knows  that  they  are  dying  by  the  thousand  every  year. 
Even  in  relatively  good  orchard  sections  one  may  see  many  and 
many  an  orchard  like  that  shown  in  Figure  1  which  is  already 
practically  a  negligible  quantity  so  far  as  production  is  con- 


FiQ.  1. — One  reason  why  orrharrlinc  will  not  ho  ovrrdnnn'     An  orrhanl  killod  by  scale  and 
neglect.     There  are  thousands  like  it. 

cerned.  And  in  the  really  poor  sections,  particularly  if  the  San 
Jose  scale  is  there,  such  orchards  are  the  rule  and  not  the 
exception. 

Some  Orchards  Abandoned. — Passing  now  from  Uncle  Sam's 
estimates  to  the  opinions  of  less  important  persons,  we  find  it  a 
verj^  general  opinion  among  people  who  have  given  the  matter 
some  thought,  that  a  great  many  young  orchards  which  were  set 
out  with  high  hopes  a  few  years  ago  are  already  abandoned  as 
hopeless.  The  writer  himself  can  think  of  dozens.  This  was 
inevitable,  considering  the  people  who  set  them  out,  men  and 


4  THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  ORCHARDING 

women  who  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  orcharding  except  what 
they  read  in  the  magazines  or  daily  papers.  Go  into  any  section 
except  our  very  best  orchard  regions  and  you  will  find  plenty  of 
examples  like  the  orchard  shown  in  Figure  1.  One  need  have 
little  fear  of  the  competition  of  such  an  orchard  as  this. 

Insects  and  Diseases. — Another  thing  which  will  help  to 
delay  this  dreaded  time  of  over-production  is  the  constantly 
increasing  list  of  orchard  pests.  Men  have  attempted  to  compute 
the  loss  from  this  source  and  have  placed  it  among  the  millions 
of  bushels.  But  whether  we  accept  this  estimate  or  not,  no  one 
who  has  seen  such  things  at  work  as  the  bitter  rot  of  the  apple 
and  the  brown  rot  of  the  peach  and  plum  or  the  codling  moth  of 
the  apple  and  the  cureulio  of  the  peach  and  plum  can  fail  to 
realize  that  the  loss  is  tremendous. 

Slow  Returns. — Still  another  factor  which  is  always  going  to 
act  as  a  brake  on  orchard  setting  is  the  length  of  time  required 
to  bring  trees  to  profitable  bearing.  If  a  man  starts  in  the  dairy 
business  he  can  buy  a  cow  and  sit  right  dowTi  and  milk  her 
(always  provided  of  course  that  she  is  giving  milk),  so  that  his 
income  begins  at  once ;  or  if  he  starts  in  the  trucking  business  it 
requires  only  a  season  to  get  returns.  But  an  orchard  is  a  long- 
time investment,  and  relatively  few  people  are  going  to  have  the 
patience  and  the  pocketbook  to  wait  for  returns  (Fig.  2). 

No  Advertising. — If  one  is  cataloging  the  hopeful  factors  in 
the  orchard  situation,  he  certainly  should  not  omit  the  fact  that 
up  to  date  there  has  been  almost  nothing  done  in  the  way  of 
advertising.  If  red  apples  were  as  persistently  advertised  as 
some  patent  medicines,  the  supply  never  would  overtake  the 
demand.  This  is  one  of  the  improvements  which  ought  to  be 
undertaken  next,  and  the  writer  believes  so  emphatically  in  its 
value  that  he  has  devoted  an  entire  chapter  to  the  subject. 

Bad  Marketing. — If  one  wants  further  hope  for  the  future  of 
the  orchard  business,  think  of  the  way  in  which  most  of  our 
fruit  is  marketed  at  the  present  time !  If  any  one  can  think  of 
methods  better  calculated  to  decrease  consumption  than  those 
frequently  in  use  he  is  a  genius.  Poor  fniit,  poorly  handled  and 
worse  packed,  is  shipped  into  the  market  without  the  shghtest 


THE  RIGHT  MAN  6 

regard  for  the  demand  at  that  j)articular  time  and  place.  What 
would  happen  to  any  other  manufacturer  if  he  followed  the 
methods  of  many  of  our  apple  manufacturers?  Bankruptcy 
sure  and  speedy !  It  simply  shows  what  a  good  business  orchard- 
ing is,  that  it  has  kept  up  under  the  methods  too  often  in  vogue. 
The  Right  Man. — We  have  said  that  for  the  right  people 
carrying  on  an  orchard  by  right  methods  and  in  the  right  place 
the  future  is  anything  but  dark.  Let  us  close  this  brief  review 
of  the  orchard  situation  with  a  word  on  this  desirable  combina- 
tion.   Who  are  the  right  people?    Anybody  with  a  love  for  the 


Fia.  2. — Anothor  roasnn  why  orcharding  will  not  be  ovrr-done.     This  young  orchard  lias  been 
eet  five  yeara  and  some  of  the  trees  are  little  if  any  larger  than  when  they  were  set. 


business  and  who  has  the  knowledge,  or  who  can  hire  somebody 
with  the  knowledge,  to  do  the  w^ork.  To  begin  with,  the  man 
brought  up  on  the  farm  has  an  immense  advantage  over  the  man 
who  is  city  bom  and  bred.  He  knows  already  the  practical  de- 
tails of  farming.  The  writer  is  always  doubtful  about  the 
success  of  one  who  knows  nothing  of  farm  life.  It  takes  a 
tremendous  amount  of  enthusiasm  and  hard  work  to  overcome 
the  handicap.  Here  is  an  example  of  the  kind  of  man  who  ought 
not  to  go  into  orcharding.  He  wrote  to  our  Agricultural  College, 
saying  that  he  expected  to  set  a  large  orchard,  would  use  fifty 
thousand  trees,  and  since  the  nurserymen  must  make  a  lot  of 


6  THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  ORCHARDING 

money  out  of  their  business  did  we  not  think  it  would  be  well  for 
him  to  propagate  his  own  trees.  And  in  the  event  that  we 
agreed  with  him  as  to  the  advisability  of  this,  would  it  not 
be  well  for  him  to  "  start  the  apple  seeds  in  the  house  during 
the  winter  so  as  to  have  the  little  trees  well  under  way  by 
spring."  While  the  writer  does  not  want  to  discourage  unduly 
the  city  man  who  wants  an  orchard,  it  does  seem  to  him  that 
few   of   them    can    qualify   as   "  the    right   man." 


FiQ.  3. — Still  another  reason  why  orcharding  will  not  be  over-done.  The  owner  of  this 
orchard  was  a  liveryman  and  wanted  hay!  He  had  the  good  sense  not  to  try  to  raise  both 
hay  and  apples  on  the  same  land. 

Now  while  there  are,  of  course,  many  exceptions,  it  would 
seem  that  two  classes  of  orchard  ventures  are  especially  likely  to 
be  successful.  One  of  these  is  that  of  the  farmer  in  an  orchard 
section  who  already  has  his  living  assured  and  who  decides  to 
add  to  his  orchard  plantings.  And  the  other  is  that  of  the  man 
who  has  money  enough  to  go  into  orcharding  on  a  reasonably 
large  scale  so  that  he  can  devote  his  time  to  it  if  he  has 
the  knowledge  himself  or  if  not  can  hire  an  expert  foreman. 
As  a  rule  the  thing  for  the  inexperienced  man  to  do,  if  he 
is  sure  that  he  wants  an  orchard,  is  to  work  with  some  practical 
orchard  man  until  he  acquires  a  reasonable  knowledge  of  the 
business. 

Right  Methods  are  only  less  important  than  right  men.  The 
writer  has  tried,  in  the  following  pages,  to  suggest  some  of  the 


RIGHT  METHODS  7 

things  which  he  thinks  are  of  importance.  And  even  the  best  of 
men  with  the  best  of  methods  cannot  succeed  if  they  ignore  too 
much  the  question  of  the  right  place.  An  uncongenial  soil,  a 
frosty  location,  undue  exposure  to  fierce  winds,  add  just  so  much 
to  the  unavoidable  handicap  of  the  man  who  grows  fruit. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Discuss  the  interest  in  orcharding  during  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth 

century. 

2.  How  did  the  production  of  apples  vary  from  1895  to  1911  ? 

3.  \Miat   are   the   principal    factors   which   keep    down   the   production   of 

apples? 

4.  What  type  of  man  is  most  likely  to  be  successful  as  an  orchardist? 

5.  Give  some  examples  of  successful  orcharding  that  you  have  seen. 

6.  Tell  of  unsuccessful  orchard  ventures  that  you  have  seen  or  read  about 

and  give  the  reasons  for  failure. 


CHAPTER  II 
ORCHARD  LANDS 

While  there  is  considerable  variation  in  the  type  of  soil  re- 
quired by  different  classes  of  orchard  fruits,  and  while  in  a  few 
cases  we  have  even  worked  out,  with  considerable  accuracy,  the 
soil  preferences  of  individual  varieties,  yet  it  is  surprising  how 
nearly  the  ideal  orchard  conditions  for  most  fruits  agree.  For 
example,  they  all  agree  in  being  subject  to  damage  by  winds, 
none  of  them  thrive  well  on  wet  lands,  and  all  of  them  are  safer 
on  lands  which  are  not  liable  to  frosts.  We  may  therefore  feel 
fairly  safe  in  generalizing  on  orchard  lands,  and  the  follov/ing 
score  card  has  been  worked  out  for  use  in  classes.  In  this  is  a 
list  of  the  points  which  ought  to  be  included  in  an  examination  of 
an  orchard  site,  and  an  effort  is  made  to  estimate  the  relative 
importance  of  these  different  points.  The  score  card  is,  of  course, 
by  no  means  ideal,  but  it  does  include  the  most  important  items 
and  it  ought  to  be  suggestive  to  a  prospective  orchard  planter. 

/Score  Card  for  Orchard  Site 

Counts. 

A.  Soil     30 

a.  Surface    soil    15 

1.  Fertility;  chemical  character;  too  fertile  or  not 

fertile  enough. 

2.  Adaptation  to  fruit  grown. 

3.  Ease  of  working. 

4.  Sour? 

5.  Hunms  content. 

b.  Subsoil    15 

1.  Ease  of  penetration  by  roots. 

2'.  Fertility;   pure  sand  vs.  gravelly  clay. 

B.  Water  drainage    30 

o.  Surface  drainage    10 

1.  Good?     Does  water  stand? 

2.  Too  much  ? 

(a)    Washing,  loss  of  soil  and  fertility. 
(6)   Loss  of  water, 

9 


SOIL  9 

6.  Sub-drainage    20 

1.  Enough?      Is  soil   soggy? 

2.  Too  much?     Is  soil  too  dry? 

C.  Atmospheric   drainage    15 

a.  Will  cold  air  drain  off?     Is  there  slope  enough? 
h.  Does  cold  air  come  down  from  slopes  above;   is 

orchard  at  foot  of  a  long  slope? 
c.  Is  there  any  obstruction  at  the  bottom  of  orchard 

to  hold  cold  air? 

D.  Aspect  or  slope   15 

a.  With  reference  to  sun    5 

1.  Ripening  and  coloring  of  fruit. 

2.  Frost  injury  on  eastern  slope. 

3.  Sun-scald. 

h.  With  reference  to  winds    1" 

1.  Docs  land  slope  towards  prevailing  winds? 

E.  Windbreaks     10 

o.  Nearby  and  distant. 
1).  Kinds  of  trees. 

c.  Distance   away    that   is    best. 

d.  Is  it  open  at  bottom? 

e.  Is  it  owned  by  proprietor  of  orchard? 

Total     100  100 

Many  of  the  points  given  are  self-explanatory,  yet  a  short  dis~ 
cussion  may  help  with  most  of  them. 

A.  Soil. — a.  Surface  Soil. — 1.  The  fertility  of  the  soil. 
while  not  as  important  as  the  general  character  of  the  soil,  is  still 
well  worth  considering.  If  the  land  is  "  run  out  "  it  is  by  no 
means  worth  as  much  for  an  orchard  as  though  it  were  in  ' '  good 
heart."  Of  course  it  can  be  brought  up  again  in  fertility,  but 
this  takes  time  and  money  and  the  writer  has  started  enough 
orchards  to  learn  that  poor,  run-out  soil  is  a  big  handicap  in 
developing  growthy  and  shapely  trees.  To  overcome  it,  one  ought 
to  have  some  bam  manure  available  and  one  has  to  study  much 
more  carefully  what  kinds  of  commercial  fertilizers  to  use  and 
when  to  use  them. 

2,  The  adaptation  of  the  soil  to  the  fruit  to  be  grown.  If  one 
is  growing  peaches,  he  prefere  a  light  or  medium  loam,  and  if  he 
must  depart  from  this  he  would  rather  have  a  sandy  soil  than  a, 


10  ORCHARD  LANDS 

heavy  clay.  If  he  is  growing  pears  he  wants,  as  a  class,  much 
heavier  soils  than  for  peaches ;  usually  a  fairly  heavy  clay  loam. 
This  question  of  the  adaptability  of  certain  soils  to  certain  classes 
or  varieties  of  fruits  is  one  which  has  only,  within  the  last  few- 
years,  been  studied  at  all  seriously.  More  and  better  work  has 
been  done  on  apple  soils  than  any  others.  Near  the  close  of  this 
chapter  the  matter  is  discussed  more  in  detail. 

3.  Ease  of  working  the  soil.  One  would  discount  a  soil  that 
was  stony  or  rocky,  or  that  was  full  of  stumps  or  was  a  very 
heavy  clay.  Personally  the  writer  thinks  there  is  a  great  deal  to 
be  said  in  favor  of  rather  light  lands.  They  will  not  hold  fer- 
tilizers as  well  as  heavier  soils,  and  some  people  think  they  do  not 
hold  moisture  as  well,  though  the  writer  doubts  it.  But  they 
work  so  much  more  easily  and  there  is  so  much  less  danger  of 
injuring  the  soil  or  of  damaging  the  trees  if  the  soil  isn't  handled 
just  right.  With  a  heavy  clay,  one  frequently  has  to  wait  days 
after  a  heavy  rain  before  he  can  get  on  the  land  to  work  it ;  and 
there  is  so  much  more  likely  to  be  winter  injury  to  the  trees  if 
the  soil  happens  to  have  been  cultivated  a  little  too  late,  or  if  too 
much  nitrogen  has  been  used,  or  even  when  everything  has  been 
handled  right,  when  the  winter  happens  to  be  especially  severe. 

4.  Is  the  soil  sour?  If  it  is,  in  most  cases  lime  has  to  be 
applied  to  secure  the  best  results.  There  is  quite  a  common 
(and  the  writer  believes  a  well-founded)  prejudice  in  favor  of 
soil  of  a  limestone  formation.  And  when  one  can  not  get  this  the 
next  best  plan  seems  to  be  to  apply  lime  in  some  form. 

5.  Is  there  plenty  of  humus  in  the  soil  or  has  it  been  worked 
out  till  the  physical  condition  has  been  injured  ?  If  the  soil  lacks 
humus  it  must  be  supplied.  It  might  seem  like  a  simple  proposi- 
tion to  get  humus  back  into  the  soil,  but  unless  one  has  barn 
manure  available  he  will  find  it  an  up-hill  matter  with  either 
very  heavy  or  very  light  soils.  The  catch  crop  intended  to  plow 
in  simply  will  not  grow.  And  one  has  a  chance  to  exercise  a  lot 
of  ingenuity  and  patience  to  get  things  started  right.  And  the 
soil  which  requires  all  this  is  not  as  good  an  orchard  soil  by 
just  so  much  as  the  one  which  is  already  in  shape.  The  impor- 
tance of  plenty  of  humus  in  an  orchard  soil  is  only  beginning 
to  be  realized. 


WATER  DRAINAGE 


11 


h.  Subsoil. — Under  this  head  there  are  two  main  points  to  be 
considered:  First,  the  ease  of  penetration  by  the  roots  of  the 
trees,  and,  second,  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Lands  with  impervious 
subsoils  are  not  satisfactory  for  any  fruits,  and  a  good,  medium, 
gravelly  subsoil  is  more  fertile  than  a  pure  sand.  A  good  subsoil 
is  a  very  important  part  of  the  orchard  equipment.  In  the  first 
place  a  large  part  of  the  root  system  is  in  the  subsoil,  and  in  the 
second  place  it  is  very  difficult  to  improve  a  subsoil.  Drainage 
is  about  the  only  thing  to  which  one  can  resort. 


JJS^i 


—A  good   orchard   country.     Rolling  land  that  gives  good   water  drainage   and 
atmospheric  drainage. 


B.  Water  Drainage. — The  score  card  divides  this  into  surface 
and  sub-drainage.  In  reference  to  the  surface  we  have  to  con- 
sider whether  there  is  enough,  so  that  the  water  will  not  stand  on 
the  land.  Even  in  winter  standing  water  is  objectionable  (Fig. 
4).  Second,  is  there  too  much  surface  drainage  so  that  the  land 
is  subject  to  washing?  By  washing,  both  soluble  plant  food  and 
actual  soil  are  lost.  In  times  of  drouth,  the  water  from  a  chance 
shower  will  run  off  before  it  can  soak  in.  A  sharp  slope  on  light 
lands  is  almost  sure  to  suffer  more  from  dT*outh  than  the  more 


12  ORCHARD  LAxNDS 

level  lands  near  by,  simply  because  the  M^ater  does  not  have  time 
to  soak  in. 

Suh-drainage.—lleve  again  it  is  a  question  of  amount.  Is 
there  too  little,  just  enough,  or  too  much  ?  Trees  will  seldom  do 
well  in  a  wet  subsoil.  The  growth  is  poor  and  they  are  in  danger 
of  winter-killing  and  various  other  troubles.  On  the  other  hand 
if  there  is  too  much  sub-drainage  we  have  an  exceptionally  dry 
subsoil  and  consequently  lack  of  thrift  in  the  trees.  And  more- 
over, the  first-grown  on  such  trees  is  certain  to  lack  in  quality. 

C.  Atmospheric  Drainage. — This,  of  course,  is  of  importance 
only  in  sections  subject  to  frosts,  but  as  most  of  our  best  orchard 
lands  are  in  sections  where  frosts  may  occur,  it  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered in  choosing  the  orchard  site.  Frost  is  one  of  those  inter- 
mittent troubles  which  one  may  escape  for  years  and  which  then 
swoop  down  on  the  orchard  in  a  night  and  wipe  out  the  profits  of 
the  whole  year.  It  is  particularly  comforting  to  know  that  the 
orchard  is  on  lands  which  are  not  subject  to  this  danger.  And 
of  course  if  one  gets  a  crop  when  most  of  the  neighbors  have 
lost  theirs,  the  profit  is  correspondingly  greater.  It  is  surprising 
how  little  elevation  and  how  little  slope  are  required  to  prevent 
frost.  The  writer  has  seen  an  elevation  of  not  over  ten  feet 
make  a  difference  of  from  75  to  100  per  cent  in  frost  injury. 
The  points  to  be  considered  are:  (1)  Is  there  slope  enough  to 
the  field  under  investigation  to  caiTy  off  the  cold  air?  (2)  Does 
cold  air  drain  down  from  slopes  above  to  the  orchard,  i.e.,  is  the 
orchard  at  the  foot  of  a  long  slope?  If  it  is,  then  it  receives  not 
only  its  own  share  of  the  cold  air  but  a  large  amount  from  fields 
higher  up  the  slope,  and  frosts  are  consequently  more  likely  to 
occur  and  more  serious  when  the}'-  do  occur.  (3)  Is  there  any 
obstruction  at  the  bottom  of  the  orchard  to  hold  cold  air  and  bank 
it  up  in  the  orchard? 

D.  Aspect  or  Slope. — Personally  the  writer  believes  that 
this  matter  of  aspect  has  frequently  been  over-worked  and  yet 
there  are  circumstances  under  which  it  is  well  worth  careful 
consideration.  If  a  man  is  an  orchardist  pure  and  simple,  and 
wants  to  set  out  eveiy  available  acre,  no  slope  would  be  dis- 
carded on  account  of  its  direction.    On  the  other  hand,  if  one  is  a 


WINDBREAKS 


13 


general  farmer  and  wants  to  set  one  orchard  on  the  best  orchard 
site  of  the  farm,  then  the  question  of  slope  is  worthy  of  careful 
consideration.  With  reference  to  the  sun,  we  have  the  ripening 
and  coloring  effects  of  a  southern  exposure  which  are  surely 
worth  having  if  they  can  be  had  without  danger  from  frosts. 
But  in  sections  and  locations  where  frosts  are  a  serious  menace, 
southern  and  southeastern  slopes  ought  to  be  avoided  for  all 
fruits  like  Japanese  plums,  which  blossom  very  early  and  are 
frequently  damaged  by  frosts.  Lastly  there  is  the  matter  of 
sun-scald.  Where  this  is  serious  one  ought  certainly  to  avoid  a 
southwestern  slope.     On  the  question  of  aspect  with  reference 


Fig.  5. — An  id<»al  country  for  orchard.     Slope  enoueh  to  provide  pood  drainage,  yet  smooth 
enough  to  admit  of  cultivation. 

to  wind  it  need  only  be  said  that  in  those  sections  wliere  there 
are  very  strong  winds  from  one  or  two  directions,  as  frequently 
happens,  it  is  very  desirable  to  avoid  those  slopes.  Many  sec- 
tions, for  example,  are  subject  to  very  strong  northwest  gales  and 
only  slightly  less  to  southwest  winds.  The  orchardist  therefore 
prefers  to  avoid  these  slopes,  other  things  being  equal.  Fre- 
quently other  things  are  not  equal  and  we  choose  one  of  these 
slopes  in  spite  of  its  direction.  But  such  lands  are  not  as  desir- 
able as  those  which  do  not  have  this  handicap  (Fig.  5). 

E.  Windbreaks. — A  great  deal  has  been  said  and  written 
about  windbreaks.    They  seem  to  the  writer  to  be  another  factor 


14  ORCHARD  LANDS 

m  the  orchard  site  question  which  has  sometimes  been  over- 
worked and  yet  they  are  important.  The  one  advantage  of  the 
windbreak  which  is  likely  to  appeal  to  any  man  who  has  to  get 
out  in  the  orchard  and  do  the  actual  work,  is  that  it  frequently 
enables  one  to  work  with  more  comfort  and  consequently  with 
greater  efficiency.  The  two  operations  in  which  this  advantage 
wall  be  noticed  most  are  in  pruning  and  spraying.  Most  of  our 
pruning  is  done  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  the  temperature  is 
likely  to  be  too  low  for  real  comfort.  If  a  man  is  pruning  some 
day  in  March  in  the  northwest  corner  of  an  orchard  on  a  western 
or  northwestern  slope,  when  there  is  a  gale  from  that  direction, 
he  will  very  soon  appreciate  the  value  of  anything  that  will  get 
him  out  of  that  wind.  Perhaps  he  resorts  to  the  barn,  but  that 
does  not  get  the  orchard  pruned.  If  he  is  lucky  enough  to  have, 
as  a  part  of  his  orchard,  a  corner  which  slopes  to  the  southeast 
and  which  is,  perhaps,  also  protected  by  a  windbreak,  he  will  see 
the  practical  value  of  shelter  from  winds.  The  case  is  even 
stronger  when  spraying  is  considered.  In  this  operation  one  not 
only  has  the  physical  discomfort  to  contend  with  (and  physical 
comfort  or  discomfort  counts  for  a  lot  in  getting  any  work  done 
properly),  but  he  frequently  finds  it  a  practical  impossibility  to 
get  the  spray  where  he  wants  it.  It  so  happens  that  each  of  the 
two  orchards  with  which  the  writer  has  most  to  do,  has  many 
different  blocks  on  various  slopes  and  with  varying  protections 
from  the  winds.  And  times  without  number  in  both  orchards 
it  has  been  possible  to  continue  the  work  of  spraying  or  pruning 
because  it  was  possible  to  get  away  from  the  wind  which  happened 
to  be  blowing.  A  windbreak  certainly  pays  in  comfort  and 
efficdency. 

Kinds  of  Windhreaks. — If  one  is*  to  have  a  windbreak  it  is  very 
desirable  to  choose  a  kind  of  tree  for  it  which  will  harbor  neither 
fungous  diseases  nor  insects  which  might  attack  the  trees  of  the 
orchard.  For  example,  one  would  not  want  to  have  red  cedar 
trees  in  a  windbreak  for  an  apple  orchard,  because  of  the  cedar 
rust,  a  fungus  which  at  one  stage  attacks  the  apple  and  at  an. 
other  the  red  cedar.  This  is  much  more  important  in  the  south 
than  in  the  north.  Oaks  are  generally  to  be  avoided  because 
they  harbor  the  tent  caterpillar,  and  if  one  is  unfortunate  enough 


SPECIAL  SOILS  15 

to  live  in  a  district  infested  by  the  brown-tail  and  gypsy  moths 
both  of  these  insects  are  also  partial  to  oaks.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  seems  to  be  the  common  opinion  that  pines  and  spruces  among 
evergreens,  and  maples  among  deciduous  trees,  are  particularly 
suitable  for  this  purpose. 

Distance  Away. — No  windbreak,  either  natural  timber  or  trees 
planted  especially  for  the  purpose,  ought  to  be  very  close  to  the 
orchard.  Fifty  feet  is  near  enough,  and  even  a  greater  distance 
is  better.  Where  the  trees  for  the  break  are  planted  at  about  the 
same  time  as  the  orchard  and  come  along  with  it  there  is  less 
danger  from  their  encroachment  than  where  a  new  orchard  is  set 
out  beside  an  old  established  row  of  trees,  because  in  the  latter 
ease,  as  will  be  readily  seen,  the  tree  roots  are  already  established 
and  the  fruit  trees  do  not  get  a  fair  chance.  If  it  is  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  orchard,  the  windbreak  ought  to  be  open  at  the 
bottom  to  allow  for  atmospheric  drainage,  otherwise  there  will 
be  a  frosty  area  next  to  the  windbreak.  Lastly,  it  is  decidedly 
unAAase  to  plant  an  orchard  and  rely  for  a  windbreak  on  a  block 
of  timber  owned  by  a  neighbor.  One  never  knows  when  the 
neighbor  will  decide  to  cut  off  the  timber. 

SPECIAL  SOILS  FOR  DIFFERENT  VARIETIES  OP  APPLES 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that  the  soil  requirements 
of  apple  varieties  have  been  more  fully  worked  out  than  those  of 
any  other  fruits.  The  writer  wishes  to  close  this  discussion  of 
orchard  lands  by  quoting  from  a  special  article  prepared  by  his 
friend,  Mr.  H.  J.  Wilder,  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Soils, 
for  the  Tribune  Farmer.  Mr.  Wilder  probably  knows  more  than 
any  other  man  in  the  United  States  about  apple  soils,  which  makes 
his  conclusions  of  special  value. 

"From  agricultural  experience  already  established,  it  is  apparent  that 
many  of  the  leading  special  crop  areas  have  a  very  definite  relation  to  the 
character  of  the  soils,  and  that  all  crops  do  not  give  equally  good  results 
on  the  same  kind  of  soil.  Carrying  this  principle  further,  it  is  purposed 
to  point  out  that  even  the  diflerent  varieties  of  the  same  crop  may  differ 
greatly  in  soil  requirements.  This  is  illustrated  by  a  considerable  number 
of  varieties  of  apples,  which  have  been  under  study  for  several  years. 

"  The  opinion  has  been  frequently  expressed  in  the  past,  not  only  in 
the  agricultural  press,  but  also  in  many  horticultural  books,  that  almost 


16  ORCHARD  LANDS 

any  deep,  well-drained  soil,  on  hill  or  slope,  is  adapted  to  apple  growing. 
Data  from  a  large  number  of  orchards  in  many  of  the  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi  show  this  definition  of  a  good  apple  soil  to  he  fraught  with 
danger.  Depth  and  good  drainage  of  soil  are,  witliout  doiil)t,  fundamental 
essentials,  but  a  very  considerable  percentage  of  soils  in  tlie  Appalachian 
IMountain  region  and  associated  foothills  is  so  excessively  '  deep  and  well 
drained,'  on  account  of  its  sandy  character,  that  it  can  not  compete  with 
better  soils   in  orchard  production. 

"  Unfavorable  Soil  Conditions. — A  still  greater  danger  lies  in  the 
fact  that  so  many  men  assume  every  hillside  to  be  well  drained.  Shales  and 
sandstones  make  up  a  large  part  of  the  Appalachian  system.  On  level  areas 
these  rocks  are  flat,  or  nearly  so,  but  on  hillsides  they  range  from  gently 
to  very  steeply  inclined.  On  such  slopes  erosion  has  prevented  the  accumu- 
lation of  a  soil  covering  of  great  depth.  Much  of  tlie  water  from  heavy 
rains  rushes  down  the  slopes,  while  that  which  soaks  into  the  soil  percolates 
down  to  the  underlying  shale,  and  if  in  excess  flows  along  laterally  and 
seeps  out  to  the  surface,  giving  rise  to  many  spots  of  ill-drained  soil.  The 
same  unfavorable  condition  is  caused  by  a  subsoil  too  clayey,  or  for  some 
other  reason  too  compact  to  allow  ready  downward  percolation  of  moisture. 

"  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said,  too,  about  selecting  a  deep 
soil,  many  orchards  are  still  being  planted  on  soils  of  so  little  depth  above 
the  underlying  unbroken  rock  that  little  profit  can  ever  come  from  them. 

"  The  loss  from  choosing  a  soil  for  orchard  planting  that  is  not 
adapted  to  the  purpose  is  so  much  more  serious  than  a  similar  mistake  witli 
an  annual  crop  that  too  much  care  can  scarcely  be  taken  in  selecting  the 
most  suitable  soils  located  on  sites  otherwise  favorable.  Because  of  the 
importance  of  such  selection,  investigations  have  been  carried  on  to 
determine  in  so  far  as  possible  the  types  of  soil  most  favorable  to  the 
different  varieties  of  apples. 

"  It  is  recognized  that  these  data  are  far  from  complete,  and  that 
tlie  behavior  of  the  different  varieties  under  a  range  of  soil  conditions 
must  be  observed  carefully  for  a  long  term  of  years  before  statements  of 
adaptedness  may  be  made  positively,  but  enough  facts  have  already  been 
secured  to  make  the  indications  of  value  to  the  planter;  and  it  is  hoped, 
in  addition,  so  to  arouse  interest  in  the  subject  that  growers  and  others 
will  observe  and  collect  data  as  occasion  presents  itself. 

"Baldwin  Soils. — If  *oils  are  tliought  of  as  grading  from  heavy  to 
light,  corresponding  to  the  range  from  clay  to  sand,  then  soils  grading 
from  medium  to  semi-light  fulfil  best  the  requirements  of  the  Baldwin. 
Following  definitely  the  classification  standards  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils 
with  reference  to  the  proportions  of  clay,  silt  and  sands,  tliis  grouping 
would  include  the  medium  to  light  loams,  the  heavy,  sandy  loams,  and 
also  the  medium,  sandy  loams,  provided  tliey  were  underlain  by  soil 
material  not  lighter  than  mediiun  loam  nor  heavier  tlian  a  light  or  medium 
clay  loam  of  friable  structure. 


BALDWIN  SOILS  17 

"  From  this  broad  generalization  it  will  be  seen  that  the  surface  soil 
should  contain  an  appreciable  amount  of  sand.  The  sand,  moreover,  should 
not  be  all  of  one  jjrade — that  is,  a  high  percentage  of  coarse  sand  would 
give  a  poor  soil,  whereas  a  moderate  admixture  of  it  with  the  finer  grades 
of  sand,  together  with  sufficient  clay  and  silt,  wovild  work  no  harm.  In 
general,  the  sand  content  should  be  of  the  finer  grades,  but  soils  also  occur, 
though  comparatively  rare,  which  would  be  too  heavy  for  this  variety 
were  it  not  for  a  marked  content  of  the  coarse  sands,  the  efi'eet  of  which 
is  to  make  the  soil  mass  much  more  friable  and  open  than  would  be  ex- 
pected with  the  presence  of  so  much  claj\  Such  soil  dries  quickly  after  a 
rain,  and  is  not  to  be  classed  as  a  moist  soil.  It  will  never  clod  if  worked 
under  conditions  at  all  reasonable. 

"  If  the  subsoil  be  so  clayey  or  heavy  tliat  moisture  does  not  percolate 
down  through  it  readily,  a  Baldwin  of  poor  color,  with  a  skin  more  or  less 
greasy,  is  the  usual  result. 

"  The  ideal  to  be  sought  is  a  heaAy,  fine,  sandy  loam,  or  light,  mellow 
loam,  underlaid  by  plastic  clay  loam  or  heavy,  sllty  loam.  It  is  fully 
realized  that  the  individual  may  not  possess  or  easily  acquire  just  this 
ideal,  but  the  soil  that  most  closely  resembles  it  should  be  chosen.  If 
corn  be  grown  on  such  soil  the  lower  leaves  will  cure  down  before  cutting 
time,  giving  evidence  of  moderately  early  maturity.  This  is  one  of  the 
safe  criteria  by  which  to  be  guided  in  choosing  soil  for  this  variety. 

"  Mention  was  not  made  in  the  above  description  of  the  color  of  the 
soil.  The  desirability  of  a  surface  soil  of  dark  brown,  the  color  being 
due  to  the  presence  of  decaying  organic  matter,  is  unquestionable,  and 
is  generally  recognized;  and  if  the  soil  be  not  that  color  the  successful 
orchardist  will  so  make  it  by  the  incorporation  of  organic  matter  by 
means  of  leguminous  crops  or  otherwise.  It  is  often  cheaper  to  buy  soil 
Avith  a  good  organic  content,  or  humus  supply,  than  it  is  to  be  compelled 
to  put  it  there  after  purchase  before  good  crops  can  be  secured.  Hence, 
this  is  purely  an  economic  feature.  The  w^arning  should  be  given,  how- 
ever, that  soil  should  not  be  purchased  or  planted  to  apples  of  any  variety 
merely  because  it  is  dark  colored  and  rich  in  humus.  The  soil  should 
be  selected  because  of  its  textural  and  structural  adaptation,  regardless  of 
the  organic  content;  then  if  such  soils  happen  to  be  well  supplied  with 
organic  matter,  so  much  the  better;   if  not,  it  may  be  supplied. 

"  To  modify,  however,  by  the  addition  of  humus,  the  physical  con- 
dition of  a  sand  until  it  resembles  a  sandy  loam  as  far  down  as  tree 
roots  ordinarily  extend  is  unquestionably  an  expensive  process,  and  as 
orchards  are  grown  for  profit,  the  soils  on  wliich  they  are  to  be  planted 
should  be  so  selected  for  the  different  varieties  as  to  furnish  the  most 
favorable  condition  possible  before  going  to  the  additional  expense  of 
trying  to  change  their  character  artificially. 

"  While  soils  so  deficient  iu  humus  as  to  be  leuchy  in  the  case  of 
2 


18  ORCHARD  LANDS 

sands,  but  stiff,  intractable  and  clayey  in  the  case  of  clays,  clay  loams  and 
loams,  should  have  their  liumus  content  increased  until  these  unfavorable 
conditions  for  crop  growth  of  any  kind  be  overcome  so  far  as  possible, 
it  is  not  possible  by  the  addition  of  humus  so  to  change  the  physical 
characteristics  of  a  given  soil  that  its  inherent  physical  character  be 
negligible,  so  far  as  its  adaptation  to  crops  or  to  different  varieties  of  the 
same  crop  is  concerned.  The  agricultural  practice  of  the  eastern  part  ot 
the  United  States  is  replete  with  instances  of  special  soil-crop-variety 
adaptation. 

"  Soils  for  the  Greening. — As  the  best  prices  for  Rhode  Island  Green- 
ings are  usually  obtained  in  iSTew  York  City,  the  general  aim  of  the 
commercial  grower  will  be  to  meet  the  preferences  of  that  market.  The 
demand  there  for  a  '  green  '  Greening  has  usually  been  stronger  than  for 
one  carrying  a  high  blush,  and  while  individual  buyers  may  be  found,  it 
is  said,  who  do  not  discriminate  against  the  latter,  most  of  them  do  so  to 
the  extent  of  25  cents  a  baurel  in  favor  of  the  '  green  '  Greening.  Of  even 
more  importance  sometimes  is  the  fact  that  a  '  green '  Greening  will  move 
on  a  slow  market  when  a  blush  Greening  fails  to  do  so.  There  is  also,  in 
some  markets,  objection  to  the  blush  Greening,  from  the  fact  that  the  con- 
sumer is  rarely  able  to  distinguish  it  from  Monmouth  Pippin — a  red- 
cheeked  green  apple,  which  is  inferior  to  the  Rhode  Island  Greening  and 
does  not  serve  at  all  well  the  purpose  for  which  the  latter  is  bought. 

"  To  grow  a  '  green '  Rhode  Island  Greening  to  conform  to  the  trade 
preferring  it,  a  surface  soil  of  heavy,  silty  loam  or  light,  silty  clay  loam, 
underlain  by  silty  clay  loam,  should  be  selected.  Such  soil  will  retain 
sufficient  moisture  to  be  classed  as  a  moist  soil,  yet  it  is  not  so  heavy 
as  to  be  ill  drained,  if  surface  drainage  is  adequate.  The  soil  should  be 
moderately  rich  in  organic  matter,  markedly  more  so  than  for  the  Baldwin. 
In  contrast  to  the  Baldwin  soil  in  the  growth  of  corn,  it  should  keep  the 
lower  leaves  of  the  plant  green  until  harvesting  time,  or  at  least  until  late 
in  the  season.  Such  soil  conditions  maintain  a  long  seasonal  growth  under 
uniform  conditions  of  moisture.  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  soils  adapted  to 
producing  this  type  of  Rhode  Island  Greening  are  distinct  from  the  Bald- 
win standard.  In  fact,  these  two  varieties,  considered  as  standards, 
differ  so  markedly  in  soil  requirements  that  the  soil  adaptations  of  other 
varieties  may  well  be  compared  with  them. 

"  If  a  Greening  with  high  blush  is  desired,  however,  to  meet  other 
market  conditions,  a  soil  somewhat  warmer  than  that  described  should  be 
selected,  a  deep,  light,  mellow  loam  or  productive  fine  sandy  loam  being 
favorable.  To  secure  a  '  finish  '  of  this  character  soils  approaching  more 
nearly  to  the   Baldwin   standard  are  best  adapted, 

"  The  Rhode  Island  Greening  is  more  restricted  in  area  than  the 
Baldwin,  not  adapting  itself  to  climatic  conditions  as  far  south  as  the 
Baldwin,   even   thougli   suitable    soils   occur   there.      In   fact,    its   southern 


SOILS  FOR  NORTHERN  SPY  19 

boundary  may  be  roughly  estimated  as  one-fourth  degree  north  of  the 
forty-first  parallel.  South  of  that  it  becomes  a  fall  apple  and  keeps  very 
poorly. 

"  Hubbardston  Soils. — For  the  Hubbardston  a  rich,  fine,  sandy  loam 
to  a  depth  of  at  least  a  foot  is  preferable,  and  the  subsoil  may  well  be  of 
the  same  texture.  This  variety  does  remarkably  well  on  a  soil  of  this  kind 
in  the  Connecticut  Valley  of  Massachusetts,  which  has  been  fertilized 
highly  enough  for  tobacco,  onions,  or  garden  crops.  The  fruit  is  good  size, 
well  colored,  and  has  good  keeping  qualities.  Baldwin  grown  alongside  is 
poorly  colored  and  inferior  in  both  flavor  and  keeping  quality.  This  is 
undoubtedly  due  to  the  high  humus  content  and  richness  of  the  soil,  as  the 
same  soil  in  much  poorer  condition  brings  a  better  Baldwin.  A  subsoil 
containing  enougli  clay  to  make  the  fine  sandy  material  somewhat  coherent, 
or  sticky,  is  not  objectionable,  but  there  should  never  be  enough  clay  present 
to  render  the  subsoil  heavy.  If  the  soil  is  too  heavy  or  too  clayey,  the  fruit 
is  liable  to  be  deficient  in  both  color  and  flavor.  Compared  with  the  Baldwin 
soil  requirements,  the  heaviest  soils  desirable  for  the  Hubbardston  lap  over 
a  little  upon  the  highest  soils  desirable  for  the  Baldwin,  while  at  the  other 
extreme  the  Hubbardston  will  utilize  to  advantage  a  more  sandy  soil  than 
most  other  varieties  of  the  New  England-New  York  region.  This  does  not 
mean  that  the  variety  will  succeed  on  poor,  light  sands,  for  on  such  soils 
the  apple  will  not  attain  sutticient  size  to  be  of  value,  nor  is  the  tree 
vigorous;   but  the  soil  shoxild  always  be  very  mellow. 

"Soils  for  Northern  Spy.— The  Northern  Spy  is  one  of  the  most 
exacting  varieties  in  regard  to  soil  requirements.  To  obtain  good  quality 
of  fruit,  i.e.,  fine  texture,  juiciness,  and  high  flavor,  the  soil  must  be 
moderately  heavy;  and  for  the  first  two  qualities  alone  the  lighter  of  the 
'  green  '  Rhode  Island  Greening  soils  will  be  desirable.  The  fact  that  the 
Northern  Spy  is  a  red  apple,  however,  makes  it  imperative  that  the  color 
be  well  developed  and  the  skin  free  from  the  greasy  tendency.  This 
necessitates  a  fine  adjustment  of  soil  conditions,  for  the  heaviest  of  the 
soils  adapted  to  the  'green'  Rhode  Island  Greening  produce  Northern 
Spies  with  greasy  skins  and  usualljr  of  inferior  color.  The  habit  of  tree 
growth  of  this  variety,  moreover,  requires  careful  attention.  Its  tendency 
to  grow  upright  seems  to  be  accentuated  by  too  clayey  soils,  if  well  en- 
riched, and  such  soils  tend  to  promote  growth  faster  than  the  tree  is  able 
to  mature  well.  On  the  other  hand,  sandy  soils,  where  producing  good  color 
and  clear  skins,  fail  to  bring  fruit  satisfactory  in  quality  with  respect  to 
texture  and  flavor,  especially  if  the  fruit  be  held  for  very  long.  The 
commercial  keeping  quality,  too,  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  Spy  grown  on 
heavier  soils  in  the  same  district.  Hence  the  soil  requirements  of  this 
variety  are  decidedly  exacting,  and  are  best  supplied  apparently  by  a 
medium  loam  underlain  by  a  heavy  loam  or  light  clay  loam — that  is,  a  soil 
as  heavy  as  can  be  selected   without   incurring   the   danger   of   inlerior 


20  ORCHARD  LANDS 

drainage,  for  a  poorly  drained  soil  should  in  no  case  be  used.  It  is 
surely  best  not  to  plant  Northern  (Spy  on  a  soil  lighter  than  a  very  hea\7', 
fine,  sandy  loam,  underlain  by  a  light  clay  loam,  or  possibly  a  heavy  loam. 
Good  air  drainage  is  also  very  essential  with  this  variety. 

"  Soils  for  Wagener. — The  Wagener  is  weak  in  growth,  and  hence  a 
soil  that  is  deep,  strong,  mellow,  and  loamy  should  be  selected.  Stiff  sub- 
soils are  especially  objectionable  with  this  variety,  and  thin  soils,  also 
light  sandy  soils,  should  be  avoided.  The  Wagener  thus  fits  in  nicely  with 
Northern  Spy  in  soil  requirements,  and  its  habit  of  early  bearing  makes  an 
effective  offset  in  this  respect  to  the  tardiness  of  the  Northern  Spy.  In 
Massachusetts,  in  parts  of  Connecticut  and  New  York,  and  in  north- 
eastern Pennsylvania,  Wagener  is  one  of  the  most  profitable  sorts  for  filler 
purposes. 

"  Mcintosh  Soils. — The  Mcintosh  is  a  variety  of  high  quality  that  is 
now  very  popular  in  the  northeastern  States.  Trees  of  sufficient  age  for 
safe  comparisons  are  rarely  available,  however,  over  any  considerable  range 
of  soil  conditions,  hence  no  positive  statement  is  made  concerning  the  soil 
preferences  of  this  variety.  Tlie  indications  are,  nevertheless,  that  the 
heavier  of  the  Baldwin  soils  as  described  are  desirable  for  the  Mcintosh. 

"  Tompkins  King  Soils. — The  Tompkins  King  is  fully  as  exacting  in 
soil  adaptation  as  Northern  Spy.  The  tree  with  straggling  tendency  of 
growth  does  not  develop  satisfactorily  on  sandy  soils,  but  succeeds  best 
on  a  moist,  yet  well  drained  soil,  i.e.,  the  lightest  of  the  '  green '  Rhode 
Island  Greening  soils — a  soil  capable  of  maintaining  such  a  supply  of 
moisture  that  the  tree  receives  no  check  at  the  approach  of  drouth.  But 
the  fruit  grown  on  soils  so  heavy  lacks  clearness  of  skin,  and  the  appear- 
ance is  marred  by  the  greenish  look  extending  far  up  the  sides  from  the 
blossom  end  and  by  the  lack  of  well-developed  color  which  makes  this  fruit, 
at  its  best,  very  attractive.  Hence  the  problem  is  to  balance  these  two 
opposite  tendencies  as  well  as  possible,  and  soil  of  the  following  description 
seems  best  adapted  to  this:  Light,  mellow  loam,  the  sand  content  thereof 
being  medium  rather  than  fine,  thus  constituting  an  open-textured  loam 
rather  than  a  fine  loam.  The  subsoil  should  be  of  the  same  texture  or  only 
slightly  heavier,  in  no  case  being  heavier  than  a  very  light,  plastic  clay 
loam.  The  soil  must  be  brought  to  a  productive  condition.  Subsoils  in- 
clining toward  stiffness  in  texture  should  be  carefully  avoided. 

"  Fall  Pippin.— Soils  adapted  to  the  Fall  Pippin  are  somewhat  wider 
in  range  than  those  described  for  Northern  Spy  and  Tompkins  King.  In 
fact,  this  variety  may  be  very  successfully  grown  on  the  soils  described 
for  the  Tompkins  King  and  Northern  Spy.  It  is  preferable,  however,  that 
the  surface  soil  be  a  fine  loam  rather  than  the  open-textured  loam  de- 
scribed for  the   Tompkins  King. 

"Grimes  Golden  Soils.— The  Grimes  Golden  is  not  well  adapted,  it 
Is  believed,  to  New  England  and  most  of  New  York,  and  it  is  only  men- 


GRAVENSTEIN  SOILS  21 

tioned  here  to  show  its  soil  relationship  to  other  varieties.  It  is  so 
similar  in  soil  adaptation  to  the  '  green '  Rhode  Island  Greening  that  a 
separate  description  of  the  soils  best  for  this  variety  is  not  given.  The 
Grimes  has  been  so  profitable  in  some  districts  of  western  ^Maryland, 
Virginia,  southeastern  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio  under  certain  conditions 
of  soil  and  climate,  however,  that  its  desirability  for  general  planting  has 
been  widely  heralded;  and  as  a  result  this  variety  is  now  being  planted 
in  some  sections  with  too  little  discrimination  with  reference  to  both  soil 
and  climate.  Tlie  best  general  guide  is  to  plant  Grimes  in  the  eastern 
States,  where  the  Rhode  Island  Greening  tends  to  become  a  fall  apple. 
The  Rhode  Island  Greening  soil  located  far  enough  south  for  that  variety 
to  be  undesirable  for  extensive  planting  is  well  adapted  to,  and  may  well 
be  utilized  for  the  Grimes.  It  should  never  be  planted  on  a  light  or  thin 
soil,  neither  on  a  stift'  soil.  The  tree  maintains  its  best  growth  on  a  well- 
drained,  productive,  moist  soil,  and  under  such  conditions  is  a  very 
desirable  variety  in  its  region. 

"  Rome  Beauty  Soils. — The  Rome  Beauty  bears  the  same  relation  to 
the  Grimes  Golden  in  soil  requirements  as  Baldwin  does  to  the  '  green  ' 
Rhode  Island  Gi'eening  in  their  respective  regions.  There  is,  however, 
something  of  an  overlapping  of  regions.  That  is,  the  Baldwin  succeeds 
further  south  than  the  Rhode  Island  Greening,  and  the  Rome  Beauty 
extends  as  far  north  as  the  Grimes;  but  this  intraregional  overlapping 
of  the  Rome  Beauty  and  the  Baldwin  is  largely  a  matter  of  dove- tailing, 
due  to  variations  in  elevation.  Thus,  in  southern  Pennsylvania,  as  the 
Baldwin  in  its  southerly  extension  seeks  higher  elevations  to  offset  the 
climatic  change,  so  does  the  Rome  Beauty  in  its  northern  extension  seek  the 
same  soil  at  a  lower  elevation  for  the  same  reason.  The  Baldwin  tends  to 
become  a  fall  variety  Avith  increasing  distance  south,  and  where  this 
tendency  is  sufTiciently  pronounced  to  lessen  materially  its  desirability  it 
may  well  be  replaced  by  the  Rome  Beauty,  which  is  adapted  to  the  same 
kind  of  soil.  The  Rome  Beauty  is  grown  with  fairly  good  success  in  the 
lower  Hudson  Valley  and  at  low  elevations  in  Western  New  York,  but 
there  is  some  question  whether  it  will  become  a  leading  commercial  sort 
in  either  region. 

"  Gravenstein  Soils. — The  Gravenstein  has  given  growers  much 
trouble,  but  its  general  excellence,  the  high  price  the  fruit  brings,  and  the 
strong  demand  for  it  in  some  markets  make  it  a  tempting  sort  to  plant.  Its 
susceptibility  to  winter  injury,  however,  is  often  a  serious  matter.  There  is 
good  evidence  to  show  that  the  Gravenstein  should  not  be  forced  in  growth, 
at  least  until  it  is  fifteen  years  old  or  older.  On  rich,  moist  gi-ound  or  with 
heavy  fertilization  with  nitrogenous  manures,  its  growth  is  rarely  matured 
early  enough  in  the  season  to  avoid  more  or  less  winter  injur3\  It  con- 
tinues to  grow  until  freezing  weather,  and  thus  is  very  susceptible  to 
injury.     On  a   medium   soil,  neither   too   rich   nor   too  moist,   its  growth 


22  ORCHARD  LANDS 

may  better  be  held  in  control,  early  annual  maturity  may  be  forced,  and  the 
color  of  the  fruit  is  satisfactory.  The  subsoil  should  never  be  so  clayey 
as  to  prevent  ready  downward  percolation  of  any  excess  of  free  soil  water. 
Annual  applications  of  the  mineral  fertilizers,  such  as  basic  slag  and 
potash,  seem  desirable  on  such  soils,  and  a  moderate  amount  of  humus 
should  be  furnished,  but  nitrogenous  fertilizers  should  be  used  sparingly. 
Fruit  of  good  color  is  especially  desirable  with  this  variety,  the  color 
adding  materially  to  the  selling  price.  This  has  led  to  its  being  planted 
on  thin  or  light,  sandy  soils  in  some  cases,  but  on  such  land  the  Graven- 
stein  is,  on  the  whole,  unsatisfactory.  This  is  a  variety  for  the  specialist, 
and  for  such  it  is  a  very  profitable  sort  when  grown  near  a  market — espe- 
cially  if  within  driving  distance. 

"  Roxbury  Russet  Soils. — The  Roxbury  Russet  is  now  seldom  planted, 
but  there  are  some  commercial  orchards  of  it  in  New  England  and  New 
York,  and  many  old  orchards  contain  a  few  trees.  The  Roxbury  Russet 
is  a  gross  feeder,  utilizing  to  advantage  heavier  applications  of  stable 
manure  than  almost  any  other  variety.  A  deep,  rich,  loamy  soil,  with  the 
upper  subsoil  of  at  least  medium  porosity,  such  as  a  fine,  sandy  loam  or  a 
gravelly,  sandy  loam,  seems  to  be  essential,  though  a  heavier  subsoil  at  a 
depth  of  four  to  six  feet  is  not  objectionable.  It  thrives  on  a  much  richer 
soil  than  the  Baldwin,  which  does  not  color  well  on  the  best  Russet  soils. 
The  '  green  '  Rhode  Island  Greening  soil,  on  the  other  hand,  is  somewhat 
too  clayey  for  the  Roxbury  Russet.  Grown  on  the  soil  conditions  described, 
the  Roxbury  tree  is  prolific,  the  fruit  attains  large  size  and  good  quality, 
its  keeping  characteristics  are  excellent  and  it  brings  a  good  price,  espe- 
cially for  export  trade. 

"  A  study  of  the  cropping  systems  practised  in  this  country  indicates 
that  many  of  our  important  crops  have  reached  their  highest  development 
on  certain  kinds  of  soil,  and  in  the  light  of  this  experience  it  seems 
inevitable  to  conclude  that  soils  may  be  selected  for  diflerent  crops  in 
accordance  with  their  relative  adaptedness  to  the  growth  of  such  crops. 
In  fact,  there  is  nothing  new  or  startling  in  this  statement.  It  is  simply 
summing  up  a  long  line  of  experience  in  the  best  farm  practice  of  the 
country.  It  is  only  the  best  farm  practice,  the  most  perfect  soil  adaptation 
and  the  most  effective  soil  crop  management  that  can  long  survive,  because 
no  other  kinds  pay  as  well.  We  have  been  forced  by  competition  to 
recognize  soil  adaptedness  to  different  crops.  It  is  a  matter  of  economic 
efficiency. 

"  Attention  has  been  called  to  the  further  fact  that  within  the 
climatic  zone  favorable  to  certain  varieties  of  some  crops  the  best  results 
have  been  obtained  on  certain  definite  soil  conditions,  and  this  is  espe- 
cially well  illustrated  by  different  varieties  of  apples.  Little  more  than 
a  beginning  has  been  made  in  this  line  of  work,  and  it  will  take  time 
to  solv'e  the  various  problems  relating  to  it,  but  it  is  already  one  of  the 
promising  fields   for   further  investigation." 


QUESTIONS  23 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Give  the  main  points  to  he  considered  in  choosinp;  an  orchard  site. 

2.  Give  five  characteristics  of  the  surface  soil. 

3.  What  are  the  best  subsoils  for  orchards? 

4.  Why  is  surface  drainage  needed? 

5.  Discuss  the  danger  in  having  too  much  slope. 

6.  What  are  the  advantages  of  having  atmospheric  drainage? 

7.  What  are  considered  the  best  aspects  or  slopes? 

8.  What  are   the   advantages   of   windbreaks   for   orchards? 

9.  What  kinds  of  windbreaks  are  best  for  orchards? 

10.  Discuss  the  location  of  windbreaks. 

11.  What  are  some  soil  conditions  that  are  unfavorable  for  apples? 

12.  What  soils  are  best  for  Baldwin  apples? 

13.  Discuss   soils   for  Greenings. 

14.  Discuss  Hubbardston  soils. 

15.  What   soils   are  best   for   Northern   Spy   apples? 

16.  What  are  the  best  soils  for  Tompkins  King? 

17.  On  what  soils  does  Grimes  Golden  do  best? 

18.  What  .are  the  special  soil  requirements  of  Rome  Beauty? 

19.  On  what  soils  does  the  Gravenstein  succeed  best? 

20.  Discuss  soils  best  suited  to  the  Roxbury  Russet. 


CHAPTER  in 

SELECTING  VARIETIES  AND  BUYING  NURSERY 

STOCK 

Having  selected  the  orchard  site  with  due  regard  (so  far  as 
circumstances  will  allow)  for  the  principles  laid  down  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  the  next  matter  for  consideration  is  what 
varieties  shall  be  selected  and  where  the  stock  shall  be  purchased. 
In  fact,  the  orchardist  has  probably  considered  both  of  these 
questions,  but  especially  the  former,  long  before  he  decided  on 
the  site  for  his  orchard,  perhaps  even  before  he  bought  the  farm.. 

Let  us  first  attack  the  difficult  cpiestion  of  varieties.  A 
common  and  a  very  convenient  way  of  eluding  this  question 
when  asked  for  advice  is  to  say  that  "  it  is  a  personal  matter." 
To  a  certain  extent  it  is,  but  to  a  much  greater  extent  there  are 
certain  fairly  definite  considerations  that  apply  to  every  case. 
The  writer  favors  the  use  of  score  cards,  one  of  which  has  already 
been  submitted.  He  has  therefore  attempted  to  reduce  the 
principal  desirable  qualities  of  a  market  apple  to  this  basis  and 
to  attach  certain  definite  values  to  each  quality.  There  are  two 
scores,  in  fact;  one  for  the  general  or  wholesale  market  and  the 
other  for  the  special  or  retail  market.  In  the  latter  it  is  sup- 
posed that  the  grower  comes  in  direct  or  nearly  direct  contact 
with  the  consumer,  while  in  the  former  he  sells  to  a  buyer  at  the 
orchard  or  to  a  commission  man. 

Score  Card  for  a  Commericial  Variety  of  Apple 

General  Market    Special  Market 

Tree     40  35 

1.  Heavy   bearer    20  If) 

2.  Early    bearer     10  10 

3.  Health   and   vigor    10  10 

Fruit     60  65 

4.  Fair   size    10  10 

5.  Good    color    20  15 

6.  Good   quality     12  25 

7.  Keeps   well    10  10 

8.  Ships  well    8  5 

Totals     100         100         100         100 

24 


fiOPERTY  LIBRART 


EARLY  BEARER  25 

1.  Heavy  Bearer. — This  might  seem  to  need  no  discussion. 
If  one  does  not  get  the  frnit  there  is  little  point  in  having  the 
orchard.  And  yet  there  is  no  question  that  it  is  a  point  fre- 
quently overlooked  by  men  who  plant  orchards.  The  estimate 
of  the  variety  is  too  often  made  from  the  fruit  alone.  If  the 
fruit  is  handsome  and  of  good  quality  (or  frequently  if  it  is 
merely  handsome),  it  is  assumed  to  be  a  good  variety  to  grow. 
Usually  this  type  of  mistake  is  an  individual  matter  but  it  fre- 
quently becomes  almost  a  community  matter.  For  example, 
about  1897  the  Golden  Russet  apple  had  been  bringing  very  high 
prices  in  the  English  markets  and  many  orchard  owners  in  the 
Annapolis  Valley,  Nova  Scotia  (where  apples  are  grown  princi- 
pally for  the  English  markets),  hearing  of  the  fine  prices  re- 
ceived per  barrel  by  their  neighbors,  grafted  over  a  large  number 
of  trees  to  this  variety.  It  was  only  when  the  grafts  came  into 
bearing  that  they  realized  there  was  an  important  difference 
between  the  income  per  barrel  and  per  tree.  The  emphasis  on 
prolific  bearing  is  made  slightly  more  emphatic  in  the  case  of 
apples  grown  for  the  general  markets  than  for  those  grown  for 
the  special  markets,  because  the  margin  of  profit  is  greater  where 
one  has  a  special  market  and  his  customers  will  pay  a  larger 
premium  for  good  quality,  so  that  he  can  afford  to  grow  slightly 
less  prolific  varieties  provided  they  are  exceptionally  good.  A 
man  might,  for  example,  grow  the  IMother  apple,  which  is  rather 
a  shy  bearer,  for  a  special  market,  but  would  never  think  of 
doing  so  for  the  general  market. 

2,  Early  Bearer. — This  has  been  given  equal  importance  in 
both  score  cards  because  it  seemed  probable  that  early  returns 
would  be  as  desirable  to  one  type  of  grower  as  the  other.  And 
yet  there  may  be  varieties  which  one  would  be  justified  in  wait- 
ing for  in  the  special  orchard  because  of  their  extra  quality, 
when  he  would  not  be  in  the  general  orchard.  The  Spy,  for 
example,  is  proverbially  slow  in  coming  into  bearing,  but  if  one 
has  a  special  market  that  will  pay  him  $10  a  barrel  for  them  he 
would  be  justified  in  setting  them  out,  but  he  would  not  be  if 
he  had  to  sell  them  in  a  general  market  for  $2  or  $3  a  barrel. 
In  any  case  early  bearing  is  a  very  desirable  quality  and  de- 
serves emphasis.     Orcharding  is  a  sufficiently  long-time  invest- 


26 


VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 


ment  at  best  to  be  rather  discouraging,  and  should  not  be  made 
more  so  by  deferred  crops.  It  is  certainly  a  point  worth  con- 
sidering, whether  one  is  to  get  a  crop  in  five  or  six  years  as  may 
happen  with  Oldenburg  or  Wagener,  or  must  wait  ten  or  even 
fifteen  years,  as  frequently  happens  with  the  Northern  Spy 
(Fig.  6). 

3.  Health  and  Vigor, — Diseases  are  among  the  most  serious 
handicaps   of   the   orchard.     And   there   is   frequently   a  very 


Fig   6. — Northern  Spy  apple.     One  of  the  finest  varieties  and,  where  it  will  grow  well, 
a  proti table  sort,     lis  principal  tailing  is  that  it  is  exceptionally  slow  coming  into  bearing. 


marked  difference  in  the  susceptibility  of  different  varieties  to 
different  diseases.  If  one  is  in  a  section  where  apple  scab  is  espe- 
cially troublesome,  then  it  might  be  better  to  rule  out  Rhode 
Island  Greening  and  Mcintosh  altogether,  because  they  are 
notoriously  affected  by  that  disease.  But  if  fire  blight  is  the 
special  enemy,  then  Mcintosh  would  be  one  of  the  best  sorts  to 
set,  since  it  seems  to  be  particularly  resistant  to  the  blight.  In 
any  case,  whether  one  decides  to  set  the  variety  under  discussion 


GOOD  COLOR  27 

or  not,  it  is  very  desirable  that  lie  should  know  its  weaknesses 
and  give  them  due  consideration.  And  a  variety  is  certainly 
distinctly  more  valuable  the  more  free  it  is  from  all  of  these 
troubles.  One  would  discount  for  susceptibility  to  all  diseases 
such  as  scab,  blight,  and  canker;  and  for  being  a  poor  grower, 
like  the  Wagener  apple;  or  for  being  specially  liable  to  over- 
growing, and  consequent  winter-killing,  as  is  the  ease  with  the 
Tompkins  King  and  the  G-ravenstein  apples. 

4.  Fair  Size  of  Fruit. — It  was  quite  a  question  whether  this 
should  not  receive  more  weight  in  the  general  market  than  in  the 
special,  for  one  certainl}^  might  grow  the  Pomnie  Grise  or  the 
Lady  Apple  for  a  special  market,  while  he  would  not  as  a  rule 
think  of  growing  either  for  the  general  market.  But  on  the 
other  hand  one  usually  sees  apples  in  the  fruit  stores  (and  high 
class  stores  at  that)  selling  at  prices  which  range  directly  as  the 
size  of  the  fruit. 

If  any  one  disagrees  with  the  values  given  this  point  in  the 
score  card  he  has  the  writer's  permission  to  change  them,  pro- 
vided he  can  decide  where  the  extra  value  taken  from  "  size  " 
in  the  special  market  shall  be  placed. 

5.  Good  Color  is  practically  synonymous  with  "  red  color." 
Whatever  we  may  say  about  it,  however  strongly  we  may  con- 
demn people  for  "  eating  with  their  eyes,"  there  is  not  the 
slightest  question  that  they  do  prefer  a  bright  red  apple,  and 
they  probably  always  will;  that  is,  the  general  public  will.  And 
since  the  man  who  grows  fruit  is  bound  sooner  or  later,  and  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  to  be  dependent  on  the  general  public 
for  his  market,  on  people  whose  tastes  have  never  been  educated 
up  to  the  high  standard  that  they  should  be,  it  is  worth  while  to 
give  color  due  weight.  Even  for  the  special  market  it  is  easier 
to  sell  a  beautiful  red  apple.  But  where  one  is  coming  into 
direct,  personal  contact  with  his  customers,  as  he  does  in  the 
special  market,  he  can  push  an  apple  of  fine  quality,  like  a 
Palmer  Greening,  even  though  it  is  not  red.  And  the  more  con- 
fidence his  customers  have  in  his  opinion,  and  the  finer  the 
quality  of  his  variety  is,  the  more  he  can  afford  to  disregard  red 
color.    But  in  the  general  market  it  is  far  different.    Only  the 


28 


VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 


oldest  standbys,  like  Rhode  Island  Greening,  have  any  place  in 
that  market,  unless  they  are  red,  and  even  these  standbys  are  at 
a  certain  disadvantage  on  account  of  their  color.  Of  course  there 
is  also  a  difference  in  the  attractiveness  of  yellow  varieties,  and 
this  ought  to  be  given  due  weight.  One  is  a  fine,  waxy  color,  such 
as  a  Grimes  Golden  or  an  Ortley,  while  another  is  dull  and  un- 
interesting, as  a  Mann. 

6.  Good  Quality. — This  is  a  point  which  the  writer  likes  to 
give  special  emphasis.  It  is  astonishing  what  an  influence  quality 
has  in  the  demand  for  apples,  or  any  other  fruit,  for  that  matter. 

Give  a  man  a  really  fine 
apple  and  he  wants  some 
more  at  once,  and  inciden- 
tally he  is  not  so  particular 
just  what  he  pays  for  it. 
But  give  him  one  that  is  in- 
different or  poor  in  quality, 
and  he  does  not  care  just 
how  long  he  has  to  wait  for 
the  next. 

One  winter  the  writer 

L^w^^^^^^Hpp^  began    on    some    Baldwin 

^      ■  ^    apples,    some    particularly 

fine  Baldwin  apples  grown 
in  western  ]\Iassachusetts. 
It  was  the  custom  each  evening  to  bring  up  a  plate  of  them  for  the 
family  circle.  It  usually  required  two  apples  in  his  own  particu- 
lar case  to  satisfy  the  ' '  demand. ' '  Later  in  the  season,  after  these 
Baldwins  were  used  up  some  rather  indifferent  apples  of  various 
varieties  were  brought  forward.  They  were  good  sound  apples, 
and  well  preserved,  of  such  sorts  as  Rome  Beauty  and  locally 
grown  Stayman  Winesap,  but  they  were  not  of  particularly  high 
quality.  It  was  certainly  astonishing  to  see  what  a  change  took 
place  in  the  attitude  of  the  family  toward  the  evening  apple 
feast.  The  custom  was  still  kept  up  and  with  fair  regularity,  but 
nobody  felt  very  badly  if  it  happened  to  be  omitted,  and  it  was 
nothing  uncommon  to  have  a  part  of  an  apple  (and  a  good  big 


Fig.  7. — A  Baldwin  apple.  Probably  more 
people  know  and  like  the  Baldwin  than  any  other 
variety. 


FRUIT  THAT  KEEPS  WELL  29 

part  sometimes)  left  on  a  plate — something:  which  never 
happened  with  the  Baldwins  (Fig.  7).  Now  this  is  exactly  what 
will  take  place  in  practically  any  household  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. Multiply  this  case  by  twenty  million  to  learn  the 
influence  of  quality  on  the  consumption  of  apples  in  the  United 
States.  Probably  not  all  households  would  be  quite  as  particular 
about  quality,  but  some  would  be  more  so.  Given  choice  fruit, 
and  a  family  will  easily  use  ten  barrels  in  a  year.  FurnLsh  them 
with  Ben  Davis  and  they  can  get  along  with  one  barrel  and  not 
feel  the  loss,  at  least  not  the  reduction.  There  are  various  and 
diverse  reasons  given  for  growing  the  varieties  of  low  quality, 
such  as  the  Ben  Davis  apple.  "  It  is  a  good  tree,"  "  it  bears 
large  crops,"  "  it  has  fine  color  and  most  people  go  by  the  eye 
anyhow,"  and  lastly  and  worst  of  all,  ''  it  really  isn't  so  bad  in 
quality  and  a  slight  lowering  of  the  quality  doesn't  make  much 
difference  in  consumption."  Now  the  writer  wants  to  hasten  to 
say  that  he  appreciates  fully  the  importance  of  good  tree  char- 
acteristics. But  we  must  have  quality  also  if  we  are  going  to 
increase  the  consumption  of  fruit.  Nothing,  in  the  writer's 
opinion,  would  so  safeguard  us  against  that  day,  so  freely 
prophesied,  when  fruit  is  to  become  a  drug  in  the  market,  as 
to  grow  nothing  but  varieties  of  reasonably  high  quality. 

7.  Fruit  that  Keeps  Well. — This  point  is  of  far  less  im- 
portance since  methods  of  storage  have  been  so  much  improved. 
One  can  afiford  to  grow  the  poorer  keeping  varieties  because  they 
can  be  forced  to  keep  in  the  refrigerated  storage.  There  is  cer- 
tainly not  the  importance  to  very  late  keeping  that  used  to 
attach  to  such  varieties  as  Roxbuiy  Russet  and  Northern  Spy, 
which  would  hold  on  till  other  varieties  were  out  of  the  way  and 
would  then  command  fine  prices.  On  the  other  hand,  .good  keep- 
ing is  still  a  very  important  characteristic,  because  it  assists  the 
storage  plant  in  preserving  the  fruit  in  good  condition.  When 
the  fruit  is  removed  from  storage  the  good  keeper  will  *'  stand 
up  "  long  after  the  poor  keeper  has  gone  to  pieces.  Moreover, 
one  variety  may  hold  its  color  and  attractiveness  much  longer 
than  another.     The  Gravenstein  apple,  for  example,  wall  fade 


30  VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 

and  change  to  a  dull,  unattractive  red  rather  quickly,  while  the 
Mcintosh  will  hold  its  bright,  handsome  color  almost  indefinitely. 

8,  Ships  Well. — This  is  imperative  in  the  general  market  at 
present,  but  is  less  important  in  the  special  market  because  we 
often  wrap  apples  for  that  market  and  put  them  in  smaller  pack- 
ages and  do  various  other  things  to  make  them  carry  better.  The 
relative  importance  of  this  point  is  also  likely  to  decline  in  both 
general  and  special  markets  as  we  still  further  improve  on  our 
methods  of  handling  and  transporting  our  fruit.  When  ex- 
pressmen are  no  longer  allowed  to  handle  boxes  of  apples  as 
they  would  pig  iron  it  will  not  be  so  important  that  the  fruit 
should  "  stand  up  well." 

So  much  for  the  qualities  of  varieties  as  shown  in  the  score 
card. 

Number  of  Varieties. —  Another  question  of  great  impor- 
tance is  how  many  varieties  to  set.  The  usual  recommendation 
on  this  point  is  not  to  set  many,  to  keep  the  number  down  to 
tM^o  or  three,  or  four  at  the  outside.  In  general,  this  is  prob- 
ably good  advice.  There  is  no  question  but  that  most  men  who 
set  out  orchards  of  any  kind  find,  when  the  trees  come  into 
bearing,  that  they  have  some  varieties  that  they  wish  they 
had  not  planted.  That  is  almost  inevitable  if  one  branches  out 
at  all.  Usually  the  more  enthusiastic  and  inexperienced  a  man 
is  the  more  varieties  he  will  set.  Enthusiasm  plays  a  very 
important  part  in  this  choice  of  varieties.  A  cold  and  calculat- 
ing attitude  is  probably  the  proper  one  to  take.  Then  it  is  usually 
possible  to  keep  the  number  down  where  it  belongs.  But  as  soon 
as  most  men  begin  to  get  really  interested,  they  find  one  variety 
after  another  that  they  think  they  must  try,  until  the  list  soon 
reaches  undue  proportions.  One  grower  confessed  to  the  writer 
privately  that  his  first  order  of  apple  trees  contained  ninety- 
three  varieties;  and  that  he  would  have  bought  more  but  that 
was  all  the  nurseryman  carried!  A  fatal  mistake  so  far  as 
profit  is  concerned  and  yet  one  for  which  the  writer  confesses 
a  great  deal  of  lenience. 

The  proper  way  to  do  is  to  separate  absolutely  the  commercial 
and  the  experimental  ventures:  In  the  former  put  only  those 


SELF-STERILE  VARIETIES  31 

varieties  which  have  proved  their  right  to  be  considered  money- 
makers, and  set  in  the  latter  a  tree,  or  a  graft  even,  of  everything 
that  seems  interesting  and  promising.  Even  this  latter  would 
be  sternly  repressed  by  some  authorities.  But  if  one  is  to  get  the 
fun  out  of  the  fruit  business  that  he  ought,  it  is  certainly 
allowable  to  have  an  experimental  corner. 

Type  of  Market  Influences  Number. — In  the  commercial 
orchard  the  question  of  number  of  varieties  liinges  very  largely 
on  the  type  of  market  to  which  the  owner  wishes  to  cater.  If  he 
is  growing  fruit,  especially  apples,  for  the  general  or  wholesale 
market  then  he  wants  relatively  few  sorts.  With  apples  he  might 
even  restrict  his  plantings  to  two  or  three  varieties.  Such  a 
grower  expects  to  sell  either  through  a  commission  man  or  to  a 
buyer  in  the  orchard,  and  in  either  case  he  is  much  more  likely 
to  make  a  satisfactory  sale  if  he  has  one  hundred  barrels  of 
one  variety  than  if  he  has  only  ten  barrels  each  of  ten  sorts. 

If  he  has  a  good  special  or  retail  market  then  it  seems 
entirely  legitimate  to  set  as  many  as  ten  or  a  dozen  varieties. 
In  the  case  of  apples,  for  example,  he  wants  a  succession  of 
varieties  from  the  very  earliest  to  the  very  latest.  He  does  not 
want  to  work  up  a  trade  on  his  Yellow  Transparents  and  Wil- 
liams but  lose  it  when  Gravenstein  and  Llclntosh  are  in  season 
and  have  to  work  it  up  again  for  his  Baldwins.  More  than  that, 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  two  or  even  three  varieties  available 
at  any  one  time  so  as  to  give  customers  a  choice  of  several  sorts. 
One  person  may  prefer  Wageners  while  another  one  wants  Kings 
and  a  third  is  satisfied  only  with  Palmer  Greenings.  This  is  a 
doctrine  which  it  is  easy  to  carry  too  far,  but,  if  kept  within 
bounds,  it  is  a  rational  business  policy. 

Self-sterile  Varieties. — A  point  which  should  not  be  over- 
looked in  any  orchard  is  the  fact  that  many  varieties  are  more  or 
less  self-sterile,  as  it  is  called.  That  is,  they  will  not  bear  fruit 
unless  the  blossoms  are  *'  fertilized  "  with  pollen  from  some 
other  variety.  There  are  various  reasons  for  this  failure  to 
produce  fruit  when  planted  alone.  Sometimes  it  is  due  to  de- 
fective stamens  which  do  not  produce  normal  pollen;  in  other 
cases  the  stamens  do  not  mature  their  pollen  when  the  pistils  in 


32  VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 

tJie  same  blossoms  are  in  receptive  condition ;  while  in  still  others, 
though  everything  appears  to  be  normal,  the  pollen  is  impotent 
and  will  not  fertilize  its  own  pistils.  A  great  many  different 
factors  may  influence  this  matter  of  self -sterility,  such  as  locality, 
weather,  vigor  of  the  tree  and  other  influences;  so  no  one  can 
make  hard  and  fast  lists  of  self -sterile  and  self-fertile  varieties. 

Whatever  the  cause  of  self-sterility,  it  necessitates  the  mixing 
of  varieties  in  the  orchard.  Even  those  varieties  which  are  not 
strictly  self-sterile,  which  may  even  bear  good  crops  when  planted 
alone,  will  frequently  bear  much  better  crops  if  there  are  several 
other  sorts  planted  with  them.  This  is  why  the  family  orchard 
usually  bears  abundantly  while  solid  blocks  of  one  sort,  even  a 
self-fertile  sort,  may  not  do  so  well.  Even  the  man  who  is  grow- 
ing for  tlie  general  market  will  do  well  to  set  at  least  two  and 
preferably  three  varieties. 

Varieties  Suited  to  the  Section. — Another  point  of  the 
utmost  importance  is  to  stick  to  those  varieties  which  are  known 
to  do  well  in  the  section,  at  least  for  the  commercial  plantings. 
Important  as  this  is,  it  is  constantly  overlooked  by  orchardists, 
particularly  by  those  who  are  new  at  the  business.  Just  at  the 
present  time  the  apple  business  of  the  East  gives  an  exceptionally 
good  illustration  of  this  point.  There  is  much  interest  in  grow- 
ing apples  all  through  the  northeastern  United  States.  Men  have 
heard  of  the  money  that  the  western  apple  growers  are  making 
and  they  want  to  do  likewise.  They  can  not  go  into  any  city  or 
town  without  seeing  quantities  of  the  fine  western  apples  on  sale. 
Being  interested  in  varieties  they  naturally  study  those  on  sale 
and  they  say  at  once — "  Here,  these  are  the  varieties  I  want  to 
grow !  I  do  not  want  to  plant  Baldwins  and  Rhode  Island  Green- 
ings as  my  neighbors  do,  but  I  want  to  grow  Ortleys  and  Staymen 
Winesaps  and  King  David  and  Delicious."  Especially  Delicious ! 
Of  course  one  ought  always  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  something 
really  valuable  among  new  varieties,  but  he  ought  to  be  certain 
of  them  before  he  plants  them  to  any  extent.  And  one  should  be 
especially  careful  about  setting  out  new  and  untried  varieties 
which  may  have  given  promise  in  some  other  and  distant  sec- 
tion. The  fact  that  a  variety  is  promising  in  Maine  may 
mean    very    little    for   Missouri.      These   new    sorts    may    have 


VAELETIES  SUITED  TO  THE  SECTION  33 

a  place  in  the  experimental  end  of  the  orchard  just  alluded  to, 
but  they  certainly  do  not  have  a  place  in  the  commercial  orchard 
and  many  of  them  probably  never  will.  And  the  western  and 
southern  vai'ieties  ought  not  to  be  grown  in  the  North,  neither 
ought  the  northern  varieties  to  be  grown  in  the  South. 

This  question  of  what  varieties  of  apples  are  adapted  to  each 
section  has  been  carefully  studied  by  Dr.  J.  K.  Shaw,  of  the 
IMassachusetts  Experiment  Station,  who  has  reached  very  in- 
teresting conclusions  on  the  subject  that  are  quoted  here.  After 
discussing  the  influence  of  soil,  culture  and  climate  on  the  apples, 
Dr.  Shaw  says: 

"  It  is  evident  from  tlie  foregoing  discussion  that  the  development  of 
the  highest  perfection  in  any  given  variety  is  closely  related  to  most  favor- 
able mean  summer  temperatures.  In  Table  I  is  given  a  list  of  varieties,  with 
an  estimate  of  the  optimum  temperature  for  each  sort,  and  in  some  cases 
of  their  possible  range  and  hardiness  with  respect  to  the  cold  of  winter. 
The  list  of  varieties  includes  all  those  that  are  given  the  double  star,  in- 
dicating highly  successful  varieties,  in  the  list  of  the  American  Pomological 
Society,  with  a  number  of  additions  of  varieties  that,  for  various  reasons, 
seemed  worthy  of  consideration.  Inasmuch  as  we  consider  keeping  quality 
of  considerable  account  with  most  sorts,  the  policy  has  been  to  prescribe 
about  as  low  a  temperature  as  will  suffice  to  thoroughly  mature  a  variety, 
leaving  a  margin  of  about  2°  for  seasonal  fluctuations;  that  is,  we  believe 
that  any  variety  may  be  matured  when  the  summer  mean  is  2°  lower  than 
the  one  given.  This  applies  more  particularly  to  the  fall  and  winter 
varieties. 

"  We  believe,  on  the  other  hand,  that  any  increase  in  the  summer  mean 
for  any  variety,  unless  it  be  the  earliest  ones,  will  be  a  disadvantage,  though 
a  very  slight  one,  if  the  rise  is  not  more  than  1°  or  2°.  Up  to  a  certain 
degree  the  over-maturity  of  the  fruit  in  a  too  warm  climate  may  be  over- 
come if  the  grower  will  pick  at  the  time  of  full  maturity  and  put  the  fruit 
at  once  in  cold  storage.  If  the  heat  is  too  great,  however,  even  with  this 
method  the  fruit  will  be  inferior  in  flavor  and  color,  and,  in  very  extreme 
cases,  in  size.  We  believe  that  a  departure  of  more  than  2°  in  either  direc- 
tion from  the  temperatures  given  will  be  a  noticeable  disadvantage  with  any 
of  the  winter  varieties.  This  remark  will  apply  less  to  the  fall  sorts  and 
still  less  to  the  summer  varieties;  or,  to  put  it  in  other  words,  the  earlier 
the  variety  the  greater  may  be  its  range  of  temperature  without  marked 
deterioration  of  the  fruit. 

"  There  are  doubtless  errors  in  the  case  of  some  varieties,  concerning 
which  we  have  limited  information.  It  is  hoped  that  these  may,  in  time, 
3 


34 


VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 


be  corrected,  as  we  are  able  to  learn  more  concerning  the  behavior  of  these 
varieties  under  different  conditions. 

"  In  Table  II  these  same  varieties  are  grouped  under  their  optimum 
temperatures  for  convenience  in  reference. 

"  In  Table  I  there  is  also  given  for  some  varieties  the  range  of  tempera- 
ture which  they  can  stand  without  serious  deterioration.  This  is,  as 
already  stated,  closely  connected  with  the  season  of  the  variety,  being  wide 
with  early  sorts  and  relatively  narrow  with  most  winter  sorts.  Just  how 
much  diflerence  there  is  between  the  ranges  of  varieties  of  the  same  season 
is  difficult  to  say.     It  is  complicated  with  a  variety  of  related  questions. 

"  In  the  case  of  a  few  of  the  varieties  given  in  Table  I  an  attempt  is 
made  to  give  their  hardiness  with  respect  to  the  winter  cold.  Inasmuch 
as  the  ability  of  the  tree  to  withstand  cold  depends  on  a  variety  of  factors 
other  than  the  temperature  it  is  of  no  use  to  attempt  to  state  this  in 
degrees.  The  designation  Ex.  H.  is  used  for  tiie  varieties  equal  in  hardiness 
to  those  classified  as  of  the  first  degree  of  hardiness;  the  designation  V.  H. 
for  those  of  the  second  degree  of  hardiness  (by  the  jNIinnesota  Horticultural 
Society)  ;  and  the  designation  H.,  M.,  and  T.  (Hardy,  Medium  and  Tender) 
for  various  degrees  of  hardiness  below  these  two  classes.  Many  of  the  more 
southern  sorts  are  not  grown  far  enough  north  on  account  of  a  lack  of 
summer  heat  to  test  their  winter  hardiness  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
Therefore  it  is  impossible  to  make  any  statements  regarding  them,  nor 
would  there  be  any  practical  value  in  such  statements  were  they  possible." 


Table  I. — Mean  Summer  Temperatures. 

(Dr.  J.  K.  Shaw^ 


Akin 

Alexander .  . . 

Arctic 

Arkansas .  . .  . 
Arkansas 

Black 

Babbit 

Bailey  Sweet 

Baldwin 

Baxter 

Beach 

Ben  Davis,  . . 

Benoni 

Bethel 

Bietigheimer. 


III 

5|e 

1 

1 

52 

54 

H. 

53 

H. 

65 

63 

57 

58 

56 

N. 

M. 

53 

H. 

65 

64 

M. 

H. 

59 

53 

H. 

53 

Bismarck. .  .  . 

Black  Gilli- 
flower 

Blenheim. .  .  . 

Blue  Pear- 
main 

Boiken 

Bonum 

Borovinka.  .  . 

Bough  

Buckingham . 

Buncombe. . . 

Cabashea 

Cannon  Pear- 


mam. 


65' 

3  03 

lis 


♦The  average  of  the  mean  monthly  temperatures  for  March  to  September  inclusive. 

Under  "Range"— V.  N.=Very  Narrow,  N=Narrow,  M  =Mediuni,  W  =Wide,  V.  W 
Very  Wide. 

Under  "Hardiness"— Ex.  H.=Extra  Hardy,  V.  H.=Very  Hardv.  H.=Hardy,  M. 
Medium,  T.  =  Tender. 


VARIETIES  SUITED  TO  THE  SECTION 


35 


Table  I. — Mean  Summer  Temperatures — Continued. 

2 

^Q 

a 

^« 

I 

Sp 

S 

^ 

So 

tiC 

^ 

0,^ 

§ 

S 

o 

rt 

M 

i 

O 

« 

n 

Charlamoff .  . 

53 

Ex.  H. 

Horse 

66 

Chenango . .  . 

57 

Hubbards- 

ColUns 

65 

ton 

57 

Cooper  Mar- 

Huntsman . . 

62 

N. 

M. 

ket  

60 

Hyde  King  . . 

60 

Cox  Orange. . 

65 

Ingraham  . . . 

62 

Dehcious 

59 

Jeff  ens 

57 

Dominie 

60 

Jewett 

54 

Dudley 

53 

Jonathan  . . . 

59 

N. 

M. 

Early  Har- 

July  

59 

vest  

56 

V.  w. 

Kent  Beauty 

58 

Early  Joe. .  .  . 

56 

Keswick  .... 

58 

Early      Pen- 

King  David  . 

59 

nock 

,56 

Kinnaird  .... 

59 

Early  Straw- 

Lady  

58 

berry  

English  Rus- 

5S 

Lady  Sweet  . 
Lankf  ord  .  . . 

57 

61 

set 

56 

Lawver 

64 

Esopus 

59 

N. 

Limbertwig   . 

66 

Ewalt 

58 

Longfield  .  . . 

57 

Fallawater. . . 

60 

LoweU 

58 

Fall  Harvey. . 

57 

Lowland 

Fall  Orange.  . 

57 

Raspberry. 

58 

Fall  Pippin  . . 

58 

Maiden 

Fameuse .... 

54 

M. 

H. 

Blush 

61 

M. 

V.  H. 

Fanny 

63 

Malinda  .... 

54 

N. 

H. 

Flushing 

Mann 

55 

M. 

Spitzenburg 

58 

McAfee 

60 

H. 

Foundling . .  . 

54 

H. 

Mcintosh  . . . 

56 

W. 

H. 

Gano 

64 

M. 

McMahon  .  . 

55 

Gideon 

54 

H. 

Melon 

57 

Golden  Rus- 

Milden  

58 

H. 

set  

.56 

Milwaukee  . . 

54 

H. 

Golden  Sweet 

58 

Minkler  .... 

60 

Graven  stein 

55 

M. 

M. 

Missouri 

Green  Sweet 

58 

Pippin  .... 

64 

Grimes 

62 

M. 

H. 

Monmouth  .. 

57 

Haas 

59 

H. 

Mother 

58 

Hagloe 

60 

Newell 

55 

Hibernal  .... 

52 

N. 

Ex.  H. 

Newtown 

Holland   Pip- 

Spitzen- 

pm  

57 

burg  

60 

Holland 

Northern 

Winter.  . . . 

57 

Spy 

56 

M. 

H. 

36 


VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 


Table  I. — Mean  Summer  Temperatures — Continued. 


Northwest- 
ern Green- 
ing   

Okabena  

Oldenburg   .  . 

Oliver 

Ontario 

Ortley 

Paragon 

Patten 

Payne 

Peck  Pleasant 

Peerless 

Pewaukee .  .  . 

Plumb  Cider 

Pomme  Grise 

Porter 

Primate 

Pumpkin 
Sweet 

Ralls 

Rambo 

Red    Astra- 
chan 

Red  Canada . 

Red  June. . .  . 

Rhode  Island 
Greening  . . 

Ribston 

Rolfe 

Roman  Stem. 

Rome  Beauty 

R  o  X  b  u  r  y 
Russet .... 

Salome 

Scott  Winter, 

Shiawasse .  . 

Shockley  ... 

Smith  Cider. 

Smokehouse 

Stark 

S  t  a  y  m  a  n 
Winesap.. 

St.  Lawrence 


it 

BS 

H« 

'A 

a 

§ 
■■B 

o" 

rt 

W 

1 

j 

55 

1 
V.  H. 

52 

Ex.  H. 

52 

V.  w. 

Ex.  H. 

64 

56 

H. 

61 

1 

64 

1 

55 

Ex.  H. 

62 

58 

56 

V.  H.  1 

53 

V.  H.  1 

57 

55 

N. 

57 

W. 

57 

57 

62 

60 

54 

w. 

H. 

59 

M. 

58 

M. 

56 

M. 

H.    [ 

55 

N. 

56 

H. 

61 

60 

57 

W. 

H. 

55 

H. 

55 

V.  H.  1 

55 

H. 

65 

N. 

61 

60 

62 

M. 

H. 

63 

54 

i 

Sutton 

Swarr 

Swazie 

Switzer 

Terry 

Tetofski 

Titovka  .... 

Tolman 

Tompkins 
•  King 

Twenty 
Ounce 

Twenty 
Ounce  Pip- 
pin   

Wagener  .... 

Walbridge  . . . 

Wasliington 
Royal 

Wealthy 

Westfield  .  . . 

White  Astra- 
chan 

White  Pear- 
main  

White  Pip- 
pin   

Williams  .... 

Willow 

Windsor  .... 

Winesap  .... 

Winter  Ba- 
nana  

Wolf  River  .  . 

Yates  

Yellow  Bell- 
flower 

Yellow  New 
town 

Yellow 
Trans- 
parent . .  . 

York  Impe- 
rial  


N. 
V.   W. 


M. 


W. 


W. 


V.  H, 

H. 

H. 

M. 

M. 


H. 
V.  H. 


M. 

W. 

V.  N. 

W. 

M 


V.  H. 


V.  H. 


VARIETIES  SUITED  TO  THE  SECTION 


37 


Table  II. — -Optimum  Temperatures  by  Gro 
(Dr.  J.  K.  Shaw) 


ups. 


Fifty-two  Degrees. 

Fifty-three  Degrees.  Fifty-four  Degrees. 

,  Fifty-five  Degrees. 

Hibernal 

Arctic 

Alexander 

Black  Gilliflower 

Okabena 

Baxter 

Blue  Pearmain 

Blenlieim 

Oldenbuig 

Bethel 

Fameuse 

Cox  Orange 

Bietigheimer 

Foundling 

Gravenstein 

Bismarck 

Gideon 

Mann 

Borovinka 

Jewett 

McMahon 

Charlamoff 

Malinda 

Newell 

Dudley 

Milwaukee 

Northwestern 
Greening 

Pewaukee 

Red  Astrachan 

Patten 

Tetofski 

St.  Lawrence 

Pomme  Grise 

Yellow   Transpar- 
ent 

•  Walbridge 

Ribston 

White  Astrachan 

Salome 

Wolf  River 

Scott  Winter 
Shiawasse 
Swazie 
Windsor 

Fifty-six  Degrees. 

Fifty-seven  Degrees  Fifty-eight  Degrees   Fifty-nine  Degrees- 

Baldwin 

Babbit 

Bailey  Sweet 

Benoni 

Early  Harvest 

Boiken 

Cabashea 

Delicious 

Early  Pennock 

Bough 

Early  Joe 

Esopus 

English  Russet 

Chenango 

Early  Strawberry 

Haas 

Golden  Russet 

Fall  Harvey 

Ewalt 

Jonathan 

Lowland  Rasp- 
berry 
Mcintosh 

Fall  Orange 

Fall  Pippin 

July 

Holland  Pippin 

Flushing   Spitzen- 

burg 
Golden  Sweet 

King  David 

Milden 

Holland  Winter 

Kinnaird 

Northern  Spy 

Hubbardston 

Green  Sweet 

Red  Canada 

Ontario 

Jefferis 

Kent  Beauty 

Wagener 

Peerless 

Lady  Sweet 

Keswick 

Rhode  Islan 

d  Longfield 

Lady 

Greening 

Rolfe 

Melon 

Lowell 

Sutton 

Monmouth 

Mother 

Titovka 

Plumb  Cider 

Peck  Pleasant 

Tolman 

Porter 

Red  June 

Tompkins  King 

Primate 

Swarr 

Washington  Royal  Roxbury  Russet 

Sv/itzer 

Wealthy 

Williams 

Twenty  Ounce 

Westfield 

Twenty  Ounce 

Pippin 
Winter  Banana 

Sixty  Degrees. 

Sixty-one  Degrees. 

Sixty-two  Degrees. 

Sixty-three  Degrees. 

Cooper  Market 

Lankford 

Akin 

Arkansas  Black 

Dominie 

Maiden  Blush 

Grimes 

Fanny 

Fallawater 

Ortley 

Huntsman 

Stayman    Winesap 

Hagloe 

Roman  Stem 

Ingram 

Hyde  King 

Smith  Cider 

Payne 

38  VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 


Table  11 

.. — Optimum  Temperatures  by  Groups — Continued. 

Sixty  Degrees. 

Sixty-one  Degrees. 

Sixty-two  Degrees.   Sixty-three  Degrees, 

McAffee 

■\\Tiite  Pippin 

Ralls 

Minkler 

Yellow  Bellfiower 

Stark 

Newton     Spitzen- 

White  Pearmain 

burg 

Rambo 

York  Imperial 

Rome  Beauty- 

Smokehouse 

Yellow  Newtown 

Sixty-four  Degrees, 

Sixty-five  Degrees. 

Sixty-six  Degrees.    Sixty-seven  Degrees. 

Ben  Davis 

Arkansas 

Buckingham             Terry 

Gano 

Beach 

Buncombe                Yates 

Lawver 

Bonum 

Horse 

Missouri  Pippin 

Cannon  Pearmain 

Limbertwig 

Oliver 

Collins 

Shockley 

Paragon 

Willowtwig 

Winesap 

Choose  Popular  Varieties. — The  grower  should  also  choose 
popular  varieties  and  in  particular  select  sorts  that  are  suited 
to  the  market  or  markets  to  which  he  expects  to  ship  his  fruit. 
Probably  more  people  are  partial  to  the  Baldwin  than  to  any 
other  one  variety.  Wismer's  Dessert  may  be  a  better  apple,  but 
so  few  people  know  it  that  the  orchard  man  can  sell  a  thousand 
barrels  of  Baldwins  to  one  of  Wismer's  Dessert.  And  some 
markets  are  especially  partial  to  certain  varieties  while  other 
markets  will  not  handle  them  at  all.  Chicago,  for  example,  wants 
the  Yellow  Bellfiower  and  ^vill  pay  fine  prices  for  it,  while  Boston 
and  New  York  do  not  want  it  at  all  (Fig.  8).  There  are  growers 
in  Maine  who  make  a  specialty  of  growing  the  Bellfiower  for 
Chicago  and  secure  high  prices,  but  if  they  disregarded  this 
point  and  shipped  to  their  nearest  large  market,  Boston,  they 
might  make  little  or  nothing. 

Buying  the  Stock. — Having  settled  on  the  varieties,  the  next 
thing  is  to  buy  the  stock.  Here  are  some  of  the  points  to  be 
considered  under  this  head:  (1)  Southern-grown  vs.  northern- 
grown  stock:  (2)  age  of  trees  that  is  best;  (3)  size  or  grade  that 
is  best ;  (4)  price  to  pay. 


SOUTHERN-GROWN  VS.  NORTHERN-GROWN  STOCK        39 

Southern-grown  vs.  Northern-grown  Stock. — On  the  first 
point  it  is  a  very  common  notion,  among-  our  northern  orchard 
men  at  least,  that  northern-grown,  and  especially  locally  grown 
stock  is  best.  This  seems  like  a  very  reasonable  proposition, 
theoretically.  If  a  nureery  tree  has  been  gro^^^l  in  the  same  or  a 
similar  climate  to  that  of  the  orchard  it  onght  to  develop  into  a 
better  orchard  tree  than  a  nursery  tree  grown  elsewhere,  and 
particularly  than  a  tree  grown  in  the  milder  climate  of  a  more 


Fiu.  S. — Yellow  Bellflower  apple.    An  old  favorite  with  many  people,  especially  popular  on 
the  Chicago  market. 

southern  section.  If  that  is  not  sound  reasoning  there  never  was 
any.  And  yet  in  actual  practice  it  does  not  work  out  that  way. 
The  writer  has  seen  nursery  trees  which  had  been  grown  in  New 
York,  Ontario,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Marjdand  set  out  side  by  side  in 
Nova  Scotia  orchards  and  whatever  difference  there  was  in  their 
growth  was  in  favor  of  the  more  southern  trees.  He  has  also  seen 
trees  from  New  York  and  Maryland  nurseries  growing  side  by 
side  in  ]\Iassachusetts  orchards  and  the  southern  trees  giving 
fully  as  good  an  account  of  themselves  as  the  northern  trees. 


40  VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 

There  are  certain  advantages  for  really  local  trees,  such  as 
less  freight  to  pay,  less  drying  out  of  trees  in  transit,  and  per- 
haps the  nurserjTnan  feeling  his  responsibility  more  if  the 
customer  can  call  him  up  by  'phone  or  drop  in  and  see  him  per- 
sonally. But  the  argument  of  "  acclimated  nui-sery  stock  "  has 
certainly  been  overworked.  Apparently  the  tree  has  the  ability 
during  the  first  growing  season  to  entirely  adapt  itself  to  the 
new  surroundings.  It  has  not  grown  long  enough  in  the  milder 
climate  to  make  any  permanent  change  in  its  life  processes.  But 
whatever  the  scientific  explanation  may  be,  the  writer  is 
thoroughly  convinced  of  the  fact  that  it  makes  little  or  no  differ- 
ence where  the  tree  was  grown  so  far  as  climatic  conditions  are 
concerned.  What  does  make  a  difference  is  having  good,  thrifty 
stock  in  good,  fresh  condition  when  set. 

Age  of  Trees. — On  the  second  point,  age  of  trees  that  is  best, 
there  seems  to  be  quite  a  difference  of  opinion,  the  ideal  of  differ- 
ent men  ranging  from  one  to  three  or  even  more  years.  Very 
few  men,. however,  want  a  tree  over  two  years  old.  It  is  chiefly 
a  question  of  one  year  or  two  year  trees.  Personally  the  writer 
is  rather  strongly  in  favor  of  the  one  year  tree,  when  soil  con- 
ditions are  good,  for  the  following  reasons: 

(a)  It  costs  less.  Out  of  a  long  list  of  nurserymen  whose 
prices  were  compared,  the  difference  in  favor  of  one  year  trees 
was  from  nothing  to  $15  per  hundred  with  an  average  of  $6.50. 

{]))  The  freight  is  less.  This  is  not  an  important  matter  but 
is  worth  considering,  particularly  when  the  stock  comes  a  long 
distance. 

(c)  Only  thrifty  trees  are  salable  at  one  year;  that  is,  a  tree 
must  be  a  good,  growthy  plant  to  reach  a  salable  size  in  one  year. 
This  is  certainly  important.  It  is  doubtful  if  a  stunted  tree 
ever  becomes  as  vigorous  and  thrifty  as  one  which  has  never  had 
a  set-back. 

(d)  The  tree  can  be  headed  at  any  desired  height  while  the 
two  year  tree  has  had  its  head  formed  by  the  nurserynnan  and  it 
is  difficult  to  change  this  height.  This  argument  is  especially 
important  where  one  wants  very  low  heads,  as  the  writer  does. 
If  one  attempts  to  form  a  very  low  head,  say  18  inches,  on  a  two 


AGE  OF  TREES 


41 


year  tree  that  was  headed  at  30  inches  by  the  nurseryman,  he  does 
so  by  cutting  off  all  the  branches  and  leaving  only  18  inches  of 
the  old  trunk.      lie  has  therefore  taken  off  all  the  vigorous, 


■ 

... 

/■ 

— — — T— 
1     i 

■  /     ^^,._ 

II     \ 

A   - 

i^ 

b^ 

t       aHk 

w 

Fig.  9. — Nursery  tree  with  a  poor  fork. 
The  best  way  to  treat  such  a  tree  is  to  cut 
out  all  but  one  branch. 


Fro.  10. — A  nursery  tree  that  is  too 
heavy.  Over-grown  trees  like  this  are  not 
as  good  as  those  of  medium  size. 


one-year-old  buds  and  left  nothing  but  dormant  buds.  The  re- 
sult will  be  that  when  the  tree  starts,  instead  of  making  a  well- 
shaped  head  as  a  one  year  tree  would,  it  throws  out  branches 
irregularly  all  the  way  up  the  trunk  wherever  there  happens  to 
be  a  bud  that  is  reasonably  vigorous,  and  consequently  one  has 
a  poor,  misshapen  tree. 

(e)   The  younger  tree  will  stand  transplanting  better  than 
the  older  one.    This  is  probably  not  an  important  point,  but  age 


42  VARIETIES  AND  NURSERY  STOCK 

seems  as  important  with  apple  trees  or  pear  trees  as  with  cabbage 
plants  or  celerj^  plants,  where  it  is  recognized  as  being  of  practi- 
cal importance. 

Older  Trees. — On  the  other  side  of  the  question  there  are  three 
arguments.  The  first  one  is  that  the  older  trees  will  come  into 
bearing  more  quickly.  Personally  we  should  want  considerably 
more  evidence  than  is  at  present  available  before  accepting  this. 
Second,  there  seems  to  be  a  feeling  among  the  advocates  of  the 
two  year  tree  that  they  are  getting  more  for  their  money.  When 
they  get  an  orchard  of  two  year  trees  set  out  it  makes  some  show- 
ing, while  these  little,  one  year  whips,  particularly  when  headed 
at  eighteen  inches  to  three  feet,  certainly  do  not  look  imposing. 
Third,  there  is,  however,  one  type  of  conditions  under  which  the 
two  year  tree  will  give  better  results  than  the  one  year,  and  that 
is  Avliere  the  soil  conditions  (fertility,  humus  content,  moisture, 
etc.)  are  poor.  Under  these  conditions  the  tree  will  grow  but 
little,  yet  since  the  head  of  the  two  year  tree  is  already  formed 
the  result  is  not  serious.  With  the  one  year  tree,  however,  the 
poor  growth  is  likely  to  result  in  poorly  distributed  branches  which 
can  never  be  made  to  form  a  satisfactory  head.  We  would  cer- 
tainly set  two  year  trees  under  poor  soil  conditions. 

The  Best  Size  or  Grade  of  Trees. — On  this  point  the  writer 
is  quite  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  medium  grade  or  size,  say  a  four 
or  five  foot  one  year  tree  or  a  five  to  six  foot  two  year  tree.  The 
big,  overgrown  tree  is  apt  to  have  poorer  buds  on  it,  particularly 
if  it  is  to  be  headed  low,  and  it  costs  much  more  (Fig.  10).  On 
the  other  hand,  the  trees  of  very  small  size  are  not  thrifty  and 
are  frequently  not  as  well  shaped. 

What  Price  Shall  We  Pay?— Enough  to  insure  well-grown 
and  well-packed  stock.  There  is  no  economy  in  stock  which  is 
cheap  in  both  price  and  quality.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is 
no  use  in  paying  the  prices  that  are  frequently  asked.  Of 
course,  it  is  assumed  that  any  man  who  has  ambition  and 
sense  enough  to  want  to  plant  out  a  large  orchard  will  have 
too  much  sense  to  buy  his  stock  from  a  tree  agent.  Where  one  is 
setting  only  a  half  dozen  trees  he  can  perhaps  stand  the  prices 
of  these  agents,  but  even  then  he  can  probably  do  better  to  buy 
direct  from  the  firm. 


ORDER  TREES  EARLY  43 

The  price  of  nursery  stock,  in  common  with  the  price  of 
beefsteak,  has  advanced  rapidly  of  late  years,  and  what 
constitutes  a  reasonable  price  to-day  may  be  cheap  a  year  from 
now,  but  at  the  present  writing  apple  trees,  and  good  ones,  can  be 
had  at  from  $10  to  $25  a  hundred,  pears  $15  to  $25,  and  peaches 
$8  to  $15.  It  is  very  desirable,  when  placing  an  order  of  any 
considerable  size,  to  get  quotations  from  several  different  firms 
and  to  ask  for  sample  trees.  In  this  way  one  secures  a  definite 
standard  of  the  quality  or  grade  of  stock,  and  from  the  several 
quotations  can  often  save  money,  since  one  firm  may  be  low  on 
one  part  of  the  order  while  another  firm  is  low  on  another  part. 

Order  Trees  Early. — Having  decided  on  our  varieties  and 
where  to  buy  the  trees,  get  the  order  in  early.  This  is  advice 
often  given  and  seldom  taken,  but  it  is  good  advice  nevertheless. 
One  may  be  sure  of  disappointments  all  along  the  line  if  he  delays 
too  long ;  varieties  sold  out,  only  two  year  trees  to  be  had  when  he 
wants  one  year  trees,  nothing  but  three  foot  and  six  foot  sizes 
left  when  he  wants  four  to  five  foot,  and  so  on.  Get  the  order  in 
by  January,  if  it  is  possible  to  do  so.  Of  course,  it  is  possible. 
It  is  merely  a  question  of  doing  it. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Compare  general  and  special  markets. 

2.  Discuss  the  importance  of  *"  heavy  bearing  "  in  a  variety. 

3.  How  important  is  early  bearing? 

4.  Give  some  idea  of  the  importance  of  health  and  vigor. 

5.  How  does  size  influence  the  choice  of  varieties  for  market? 

6.  What  colors  are  most  in  demand? 

7.  How  important  do  you  consider  "  quality  "  in  fruit  ? 

8.  Discuss  the  importance  of  good  keeping  quality  in  a  variety. 

9.  About  how  many  varieties  should  be  set  in  a  commercial  apple  orchard? 

10.  What  is  self-sterility?    How  does  it  influence  the  planting  of  orchards? 

11.  Discuss  the  influence  of  temperature  on  the  development  of  the  first  of 

apple   trees. 

12.  \Miat  is  the  objection  to  setting  new  varieties? 

13.  \Miat  are  the  advantages  of  one-  and  two-year-old  nursery  trees? 

14.  WTiat  is  the  most  desirable  size  of  nursery  tree? 


CHAPTER  IV 
ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 

With  the  nursery  stock  ordered  and  the  orchard  site  chosen, 
we  are  free  to  consider  the  question  of  preparing  the  land  and 
setting  the  trees.  The  preparation  ought  to  be  as  thorough  as  the 
circumstances  will  permit.  In  actual  practice,  among  good 
growers,  it  will  vary  all  the  way  from  the  man  who  wants  to 
know  at  least  a  year  in  advance  where  he  is  going  to  set  his 
trees  in  order  that  he  may  grow  a  crop  on  the  land  that  will 
leave  the  soil  in  the  best  possible  condition  for  the  young  orchard, 
to  the  man  who  plows  up  old  pasture  for  his  orchard,  or  the  man 
who  does  not  even  insist  that  the  land  shall  be  fully  cleared  of 
stumps.  The  results  will  vary  just  as  widely  though  not  in 
exactly  the  same  way.  That  is,  the  man  who  uses  stump  land 
may  develop  a  fine  lot  of  trees,  provided  the  soil  is  naturally 
good  and  provided  also  that  he  takes  good  care  of  the  trees.  The 
objection  to  the  method  is  the  difficulty  he  experiences  in  taldng 
good  care  of  them,  and  the  danger  that  this  difficulty  will  dis- 
courage him.  The  writer  very  much  prefers  to  have  the  land 
under  cultivation  the  year  before  the  orchard  is  set  out,  and  if 
the  crop  grown  on  the  land  can  be  one  which  leaves  the  soil  in 
specially  good  condition,  such  a  crop  as  beans,  or  buckwheat, 
or  even  corn  or  potatoes,  so  much  the  better. 

One  Year's  Preparation. — In  one  orchard  which  the  writer 
had  a  hand  m  setting,  there  was  a  block  of  sixteen  acres  which 
was  mostly  old  pasture  but  in  one  corner  of  which  a  field  of 
about  four  acres  had  been  fenced  off  the  year  previous  and 
planted  to  corn.  When  the  orchard  was  set  this  fence  was  re- 
moved and  the  whole  block  treated  alike  in  preparation  and  set 
out  to  trees.  It  ought  to  be  said  also  that  the  soil  of  the  entire 
block  was  quite  uniform,  and  yet  when  the  trees  began  to 
grow  those  on  the  corn  field  were  noticeably  more  thrifty  than 
those  on  the  old  pasture  and  this  difference  was  noticeable  for 
44 


STEPS  IN  PREPARATION  45 

three  or  four  years  thereafter.  Other  similar  cases  might  be 
cited,  all  tending  to  show  the  value  of  this  previous  treatment. 
Yet  the  writer  is  not  prepared  to  say  that  he  would  defer  plant- 
ing for  a  year  in  order  to  give  this  preliminary  treatment.  In 
fact  he  knows  from  experience  that  he  probably  would  set  out  the 
trees  and  attempt,  by  better  care  and  more  fertilizer,  to  bring 
them  along  satisfactorily.  By  using  good  care  all  along  the  line 
the  trees  can  be  made  to  grow  very  satisfactorily  in  most  cases. 

The  final  summing  up  of  the  case  would  therefore  be:  Get 
one  year's  previous  preparation  if  you  can,  but  life  is  too  short 
and  orchard  growing  too  long  an  investment,  to  warrant  one 
in  delaying  a  whole  year,  except  in  rare  cases. 

Fall  Plowing. — If  we  cannot  have  a  year's  preparatory  treat- 
ment we  usually  can  have  the  land  plowed  in  the  autumn,  and 
unless  the  soil  is  in  the  best  possible  condition  this  is  very  de- 
sirable. It  is  particularly  good  on  land  which  is  a  trifle  heavy 
or  in  sod.  But  when  the  land  has  been  fall  plowed  do  not  make 
the  mistake  of  replowing  it  in  the  spring.  It  is  not  necessarj- 
in  the  first  place,  and  if  there  was  any  trash  on  the  land,  or  if  it 
had  a  tough  sod,  there  will  be  no  end  of  vexatious  experiences 
when  it  comes  to  setting  the  trees  and  cultivating  the  land.  Let 
the  sods  and  trash  stay  underneath  where  they  belong  and  where 
they  will  decay.  Of  course  where  the  field  to  be  set  has  too  much 
slope,  fall  plowing  is  out  of  the  question  on  account  of  the  wash- 
ing from  winter  rains,  but  in  every  other  case  it  ought  to  be 
done.  And  this  plowing  may  be  done  at  auy  time  before  the 
ground  freezes  up  solid.  The  fact  that  the  soil  is  too  wet  for 
good  plowing  does  not  matter  so  much  in  the  autumn  as  it  would 
in  the  spring,  because  the  freezing  during  the  winter  will  pre- 
vent auy  damage  which  might  otherwise  occur  from  working  the 
soil  when  too  wet.  Heavy  soil,  so  wet  that  it  would  be  absolutely 
ruined  for  several  years  if  plowed  in  that  condition  in  the  spring, 
may  be  fall  plowed  without  injur}^ 

Steps  in  Preparation. — The  actual  preparation  of  the  land 
for  setting  would  consist  then,  first,  of  this  plowing,  done  either 
spring  or  fall  as  the  circumstances  will  admit.  This  should  be 
followed  by  a  thorough  working  with  the  disc  harrow  and  this 


46  ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 

probably  by  the  spring-tooth  or  the  smoothing  harrow,  whichever 
is  available.  And  lastly  the  land  should  be  gone  over  with  a 
planker  to  smooth  it  off  for  laying  out  (Fig,  11).  This  can  be 
omitted  of  course  but  it  is  worth  the  cost  to  secure  the  extra 
comfort  in  walking  over  the  field  and  the  greater  accuracy  in 
kying  off  the  orchard. 

There  are  three  general  methods  or  plans  of  arranging  the 
trees  in  the  orchard.  There  is  first  the  square  method  in  which 
each  tree  stands  at  the  corner  of  a  square.    This  is  by  all  means 


Fig.  1 1. — Finishing  the  land  with  a  planker  before  beginning  to  lay  off  the  orchard.     Thia 
leaves  the  surface  snaooth,  making  it  possible  to  slake  out  more  easily  and  accurately. 

the  most  common  method  and  has  the  practical  advantage  that 
it  is  an  easy  method  to  lay  off.  Then  there  is  the  triangular 
or  quincunx  method,  which  is  like  the  square  with  the  addition 
that  a  tree  is  placed  in  the  centre  of  each  of  the  squares.  This 
tree  is  usually  a  temporary  one  or  "  filler  "  and  there  are  just 
as  many  of  these  as  of  the  permanents.  And  lastly  we  have 
what  is  known  as  the  hexagonal  method,  where  each  tree  stands 
in  the  centre  of  a  hexagon  formed  by  six  trees  and  is  equally 
distant  from  each  one  of  them.     This  last  method  has  the  great 


DETAILS  OF  A  GOOD  METHOD  47 

advantage  that  it  best  utilizes  the  space  in  the  orchard.    It  has 
the  practical  disadvantage  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  lay  out. 

Of  course  there  are  all  sorts  of  minor  variations.  We  may 
have  the  trees  in  rectangles  instead  of  squares ;  and  we  may  have 
the  triangular  method  carried  further  by  putting  in  fillers  be- 
tween the  permanent  trees  in  both  directions.  This  last  is  an 
excellent  method  and  the  tree  in  the  centre  of  the  square  is  some- 
times made  a  somewhat  longer-lived  tree  than  the  other  fillers 
and  is  then  called  a  semi-permanent.  The  following  diagram 
illustrates  the  method.  P  represents  the  permanents,  S  the 
semi-permanents,    and   F   the   fillers. 


p 

F 

P 

F 

P 

F 

S 

F 

S 

F 

P 

F 

P 

F 

P 

F 

S 

F 

S 

F 

P 

F 

P 

F 

P 

For  example  in  using  the  plan  we  might  set  Baldwin  for  per- 
manents, Mcintosh  for  semi-permanents  and  Wealthy  for  fillers. 

Laying  off  the  Land. — The  operation  of  laying  off  the  land 
preparatory  to  setting  the  trees  is  another  in  which  we  find  the 
greatest  variation  among  orchard  men.  Some  are  very  particular 
to  get  their  rows  straight  and  each  tree  in  its  proper  place,  while 
others  are  satisfied  with  any  method  that  will  get  the  trees  into 
the  ground,  using  a  plow  to  lay  off  the  rows  and  doing  no  sighting 
whatever.  It  is  always  surprising  to  see  how  many  men  are 
satisfied  with  the  latter  type  of  orchard  setting.  They  will  put 
more  care  into  laying  out  a  dog-kennel  or  a  chicken  coop  that 
would  last  possibly  ten  years,  than  into  laying  off  an  orchard 
that  will  outlast  their  children  and  their  children's  children.  The 
writer  believes  emphatically  in  using  sufficient  care  to  get  the 
rows  straight.    It  does  not  take  a  great  amount  of  care  either. 

Details  of  a  Good  Method. — Various  methods  may  be  used, 
but  the  following  is  one  which  has  been  used  with  the  greatest 
satisfaction.  It  is  reasonably  cheap,  expeditious,  and  very- 
accurate.  The  details  are  as  follows:    First,  select  a  base  line 


48  ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 

along  one  side  of  the  field  to  be  set.  This  will  usually  be  either 
along  the  highway  or  a  line  fence  (Fig.  12).  Next  set  a  stake  on 
this  line  in  one  corner  of  the  field  where  the  corner  tree  is  to 
stand.  It  ought  to  be  far  enough  from  the  highway  and  the  line 
fence  to  allow  plenty  of  room  for  turning.  Twenty  or  twenty- 
five  feet  is  none  too  much.  Next  set  a  range  stake  at  the  other 
side  of  the  field  and  the  same  distance  from  the  highway.  These 
two  stakes  establish  the  base  line.  Now  begin  at  stake  No.  1  and 
set  stakes  along  the  base  line  and  towards  stake  No.  2  the  proper 


I    <3    I — I    VA//^" 


5TA1\^  NO  a 

• 

• 

\T 

STAKE  NOl 

J 

i 

tz 

p 

' 

— iOft 

~1 

- 

J 

Fig.  12. — Diagram  showing  method  of  laying  off  a  fie  i  for  planting  an  orchard. 

distance  apart  for  the  trees,  say  twenty  feet  if  fillers  are  to  be 
used.  Having  inin  the  line  acro&s  the  field,  begin  about  the  centre 
of  this  line  of  stakes  and  lay  off  another  line  of  stakes  at  right 
angles  to  the  first.  In  establishing  this  second  line  use  the 
carpenter's  method  for  laying  off  a  right  angle,  taking  6,  8  and 
10  feet  for  the  three  sides  of  the  right  triangle.  This  is  all  the 
sighting  that  is  required  by  the  method  under  discussion.  The 
rest  of  the  stakes  are  set  with  two  "  measuring  boards  "  which 
are  made  as  long  as  the  desired  distance  between  the  trees.  Inch 
boards  three  inches  wide  will  be  found  satisfactory  for  the  pur- 


ANOTHER  METHOD  49 

pose.  There  is  a  notch  at  either  end  of  each  board.  Figures  12 
and  13  will  serve  to  explain  the  method.  The  measuring  boards 
can  be  handled  more  easily  if  they  are  fastened  together  with  a 
small  bolt. 

It  will  surprise  any  one  who  has  never  seen  this  method  used 
to  find  how  quickly  and  accurately  the  stakes  can  be  set  (Fig. 
14),  and  it  does  not  require  high-priced  labor,  either.  Any  good 
man  with  a  little  interest  in  his  work  will  do  it  admirably.  On 
a  farm  in  which  the  writer  is  interested  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  acres  of  orchard  have  been  laid  out  by  this  „^„^^ 
method  and  most  of  it  was  done  by  Polanders,  many 
of  whom  could  speak  no  English.  They  were  simply 
"shown,"  and  the  proprietors  of  the  orchard  would  be 
glad  to  have  any  one  who  doubts  the  efficiency  of  the  method 
visit  the  place. 

Planting  Board. — By  this  method  a  stake  is  set  at  fJ  j 
every  point  to  be  occupied  by  a  tree,  and  the  next  point  | 
is  to  be  sure  that  the  tree  is  established  in  the  identical 
spot  where  the  stake  stood.  To  do  this  a  device  known  as  a 
**  planting  board  "  is  used  (Fig.  15).  This  is  simply  a 
board,  perhaps  five  feet  long  and  six  inches  wide,  with  a 
notch  cut  in  either  end  and  one  at  the  exact  centre.  This 
board  is  placed  on  the  ground  so  that  the  tree  stake  comes 
in    the     central 

stake    is    driven 

Fia.  13. — Diagram  of  measuring  boards.     Drawn  to  scale. 

down  in  each  ot 

the  end  notches  and  the  board  is  removed  and  a  hole  dug  for 
the  tree  where  the  central  stake  stood.  "When  it  comes  time  to 
set  the  tree,  whether  that  be  the  same  day  or  a  week  later,  the 
board  is  put  back  into  place,  the  tree  slipped  into  the  central 
notch,  the  earth  shovelled  in,  and  there  the  tree  stands  just  where 
it  is  wanted.  In  setting  an  orchard  of  any  size  it  is  necessary  to 
have  several  of  these  planting  boards,  and  care  should  be  taken 
to  see  that  they  are  all  exactly  alike. 

Another  method  which  the  writer  has  used  with  great  satis- 
faction and  which  is  particularly  good  when  the  trees  are   a 
4 


50 


ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 


considerable  distance  apart,  is  to  begin  at  one  comer  of  the  field, 
as  suggested  above,  and  run  a  row  of  stakes  along  each  of  the  four 
sides.  This  establishes  the  end  tree  in  each  row.  Then  take  a 
gang  of  three  men  to  set  the  rest  of  the  stakes.  One  man  sights  in 
one  direction,  another  in  the  other  direction  and  the  third  man 


V.>^M 

^Bi 

L 

.^ 

■1 

fe. 

m^i 

i»«^i 

'^. 

^^0 

1 

^ 

Ijgi 

;-|«ii 

fc 

Fig.  14. — Staki 


3hard  by  means  of  tv 


sets  the  stakes.  He  is  "  w^aved  "  into  position  by  the  two 
sighters  as  each  stake  is  set  and  ver}^  soon  gets  it  in  the  proper 
spot. 


Fia.  15. — Planting  board  for  locating  tree  in  setting.     See  also  Figure  19. 


Heeling  In. — When  the  trees  arrive  they  should  be  heeled  in 
at  some  spot  convenient  to  the  orchard  site,  usually  on  the  site 
itself  (Fig.  16).  This  heeling  in  should  be  done  with  a  good 
deal  of  care,  the  bundles  of  trees  being  opened  and  the  earth 
worked  carefully  in  among  the  roots  and  tramped  down  solid. 


HEELING  IN 


51 


In  some  cases  it  is  worth  while  even  to  water  them,  especially 
if  they  are  to  stand  here  long  before  setting-.  The  writer  em- 
phasizes this  matter  because  he  has  so  often  seen  trees  heeled  in 
carelessly  without  opening  the  bundles  and  without  tramping 
the  soil  down  carefully,  with  the  result  that  the  air  passing 
down  through  the  centre  of  the  bundles  would  circulate  freely 
among  the  roots  and  dry  them  out  so  as  to  weaken  seriously,  or 
even  kill  outright,  a  good  numy  trees. 


Fro.  16. — Heeling  in  nursery  stock.      This  should  1  l 
roots  drying  out. 


jry  carefully  to  prevent  the 


Where  trees  arrive  in  bad  condition  from  drying  in  transit, 
they  should  be  taken  to  a  brook  or  to  a  pond  and  soaked  for  a 
day  or  two,  if  possible  having  the  w^hole  tree  under  water.  It  is 
surprising  what  this  will  do  for  even  the  worst  cases. 

Another  thing  to  guard  against  at  the  time  of  heeling  in  is 
damage  from  mice.  They  will  frequently  gain  entrance  to  a 
bundle  of  trees,  particularly  if  the  trees  are  stored  near  the 
house,  and  girdle  ever\'  tree  in  the  bundle.  Where  mice  are 
plentiful  enough  to  be  troublesome  in  this  way,  they  should  be 
guarded  against  by  putting  a  pen  about  the  spot  where  the  trees 


52 


ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 


are  heeled  in.     A  board  ten  or  twelve  inches  wide  will  answer 
the  purpose. 

Working  Out  the  Plan. — In  actual  orchard  operations  the 
entire  field  is  usually  not  staked  otf  before  the  digging  of  the 


W- 


Fig.  17.— a  load    ..f    „,,r-.>rN     ir 
of  waloi,  uiiicli  iii:=ui 


ic   setting  gang.     The  barrels  are  half  full 
*  iiig  at  the  hole  in  good  condition. 


Fig.  18. — Gang  of  men  setting  trees.     The  men  work  in  pairs  and  the  foreman  distributes 
the  trees. 


holes  and  setting  of  the  trees  is  begun.  A  method  which  the 
writer  has  used  on  a  fairly  large  orchard  with  entire  satisfaction 
is  the  follo\\ang:    The  setting  gang  consists  of  from  six  to  ten 


WHEN  TO  PLANT  53 

men  and  a  foreman.  After  tlie  first  two  lines  of  stakes  have 
been  set  (the  base  line  and  the  one  at  riglit  angles  to  it),  and 
after  some  start  has  been  made  in  locating  the  stakes  with  the 
measuring  boards,  wliich  preliminary  work  can  be  done  most 
economically  by  about  three  men,  this  gang  goes  into  the  field 
and  is  divided  as  follows :  Two  men  continue  setting  stakes,  the 
foreman  and  one  man  go  after  trees,  and  the  balance  of  the  gang 
begin  digging  holes. 

The  foreman  and  his  assistant  go  to  the  spot  where  the  trees 
are  heeled  in.  They  have  a  stone  boat  on  which  are  mounted  two 
barrels,  which  are  half  full  of  water,  and  the  stone  boat  drawn 
by  a  single  horse  (Fig.  17).  The  trees  are  pulled  out  and  the 
roots  trimmed  by  taking  off  any  broken  roots  and  cutting  back 
any  long,  straggling  ones.  Then  the  tree  is  put  into  one  of  the 
barrels.  This  insures  the  tree  arriving  at  the  hole  in  the  best 
l)0ssible  condition  with  its  roots  thoroughly  wet.  When  both 
barrels  are  full,  the  horse  is  driven  out  to  the  spot  where  setting 
is  to  begin,  and  the  men  who  are  staking  off  and  those  who  are 
digging  holes,  all  ''  knock  off  "  and  go  to  setting  (Fig.  18).  The 
foreman  distributes  the  trees  and  the  men  divide  into  pairs,  one 
man  doing  the  shovelling  and  the  other  setting  the  tree.  If  the 
subsoil  is  poor,  it  is  best  when  the  hole  is  dug,  to  put  the  surface 
soil  in  one  pile  and  the  subsoil  in  another.  Then  when  the  tree 
is  set  the  surface  soil  may  be  used  about  the  roots  and  thus  give 
the  tree  a  better  soil  in  which  to  start  growth.  The  tree  should 
be  set  perhaps  an  inch  or  two  deeper  than  it  stood  in  the  nurserj', 
and  the  soil  should  be  worked  in  among  the  roots  and  then  very 
firmly  tramped  down  (Figs.  19  and  20).  This  last  is  extremely 
important,  as  it  not  only  keeps  the  soil  from  drying  out  but  it 
brings  the  soil  in  intimate  contact  with  the  roots  so  that  the}^ 
can  start  growth  better. 

When  to  Plant. — The  question  of  fall  vs.  spring  planting 
ought  to  be  mentioned  here.  There  are  three  distinct  advantages 
of  fall  planting;  first,  the  planter  is  almost  certain  to  get  the 
varieties  that  he  wants  because  he  is  compelled  to  order  so  early ; 
second,  the  trees  are  ready  to  start  growth  early  in  the  spring; 
and  third,  it  gets  just  so  much  work  out  of  the  way  of  the 
"  spring  rush."     This  last  is  of  varying  importance  according 


54 


ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 


to  set  a  t-w 
the  nursery. 


vear  anple  tree.     The  tree  ia  set  a  little  deeper  than  it  atood 
Fig.  20. — -Same  tree  as  shown  in  Figure  19,  set. 


'ush 


to  the  man  and  the  farm.    On  many  farms  the  autumn 
is  fully  as  virulent  as  the  spring  one. 

The  cliief  objection  to  autumn  planting  is  that  the  trees  have 
to  be  dug  so  early,  in  order  to  insure  their  getting  to  the  orchard 
man  on  time,  that  the  nurseryman  may  be  tempted  into  digging 
them  before  they  are  mature  enough  for  the  leaves  to  drop 
naturally.  The  leaves  must  therefore  be  stripped,  and  the 
stripped  tree  is  not  so  good  as  one  which  loses  its  leaves  naturally, 
because  it  is  robbed  of  much  plant  food  which  the  leaves  would 
have  supplied  had  they  been  allowed  to  remain  on  the  trees. 
Stripping  the  leaves  too  early  exposes  the  immature  buds  and 


HIGH  HEADING  55 

uncalloiisecl  leaf  scars  to  the  weather.  There  is  the  additional 
objection  to  autumn  planting  that,  since  the  roots  are  not  well 
established  in  the  soil,  the  tree  can  not  withstand  unfavorable 
winter  conditions  so  well.  Alternate  freezing  and  thawing  is 
likely  to  make  trouble,  particularly  if  the  soil  is  at  all  heavy. 

The  chief  advantages  of  spring  planting  are  that  the  grower 
gets  his  trees  in  better  condition  and  that  the  danger  from  winter 
injury  is  avoided.  The  main  objection  to  spring  jDlanting  is  that 
it  is  likely  to  be  delayed  until  too  late  in  the  season.  In  the 
writer's  experience  the  ideal  time  to  set  trees  is  just  as  early  in 
the  spring  as  the  soil  is  in  good  condition  to  work. 

Pruning  after  Setting. — After  the  tree  is  set  it  must  be 
pruned  (Fig.  21).  If  it  is  a  one  year  whip  this  pruning  con- 
sists merely  in  cutting  it  off  or  heading  it  at  the  height  desired. 
Just  what  this  height  shall  be  wull  varj'-  greatly  with  differejit 
men.  It  will  also  vaiy  witli  different  varieties.  Such  drooping 
varieties  as  the  Rhode  Island  Greening  apple,  for  example,  ought 
certainly  to  be  headed  higher  than  such  very  upright  growing 
varieties  as  the  Sutton  apple  or  the  Wickson  plum  where  there  is 
really  no  particular  excuse  for  having  any  trunk  at  all.  And 
lastly  the  height  of  head  will  vary  with  the  type  of  tree  one  wishes 
to  develop.  There  are  three  types  which  are  generally  recognized 
and  all  of  which  have  their  advocates.  There  is,  first  of  all,  the 
leader  type  in  which  a  central  leader  is  kept  ahead  of  all  other 
branches  and  from  which  side  branches  are  taken  out  at  various 
heights.  This  makes  a  strong  tree  but  rather  more  dense  than 
other  types.  Then  at  the  other  extreme  is  the  open  or  vase  form 
tree  in  which  the  leader  is  suppressed  and  all  the  scaffold  branches 
are  taken  out  within  a  comparatively  short  distance,  usually  from 
twelve  to  eighteen  inches.  This  gives  a  tree  which  is  open  to  the 
light  and  air  but  which  is  usually  not  quite  so  strong  as  the  leader 
tree.  And  lastly  we  have  the  modified  leader  tree  which  is  a 
compromise  between  the  other  two  types,  with  advantages  and 
disadvantages  w'hich  are  about  half  way  between. 

The  writer  strongl}'  favors  a  low  tree  and  to  have  a  low  tree  is 
to  head  it  low.    But  of  course  there  are  two  sides  to  the  ({uestion. 

High  Heading. — As  the  writer  has  heard  the  matter  pre- 
sented, the  principal  arguments  for  a  high  head  are  as  follows: 


56 


ESTABLISHING  TPIE  ORCHARD 


1.  That  it  makes  it  easier  to  cultivate  about  the  trees.  There 
is  probably  something  in  this  argument  but  it  has  never  seemed 
very  strong.  To  begin  with,  the  advocates  of  a  high  head 
exaggerate  the  difficulty  of  cultivating  about  a  low  headed  tree. 
The  branches  of  a  high  headed  tree  tend  to  come  out  more  nearly 
at  right  angles  so  that  they  droop  easily  as  they  become  heavy 
Avith  the  weight  of  a  crop,  while  the  branches  of  a  low  headed 


3.  21. — Same  tree  as  shown  in  figures   19 
and  20  after  pruning. 


Fig.  22. — Pruning  a  one-year  "whip."   The 

tree  is  cut  off  at  whatever  height  it  is  desired 
to  form  the  head. 


tree  tend  to  take  an  upward  slant  so  that  they  are  not  so  much 
in  the  way  as  might  be  expected,  and  they  do  not  bend  so  easily 
with  their  load  of  fruit.  Then,  too,  the  situation  is  very  different 
with  the  modern  extension  implements  from  what  it  was  when  it 
was  necessary  for  the  team  to  get  close  up  to  the  trunk  of  the 
tree.  Moreover  it  does  not  make  very  much  difference  to  the  tree 
whether  every  weed  is  taken  out  from  about  the  trunk  or  not.    The 


HIGH  HEADING  57 

feeding  roots  of  large  trees  are  not  there  to  any  extent,  but  are 
out  some  little  distance  from  the  trunk. 

2.  The  second  afgument  for  a  high  head  is  that  there  is  less 
breakage  from  snow.  This  is  a  sound  argument  and  in  those 
sections  where  deep  snows  are  liable  to  occur  and  drift  over  the 
trees  the  heads  ought  to  be  higher. 

3.  The  third  argument  for  the  high,  head  is  that  there  are 
less  culls  than  with  the  low  head,  because  in  the  latter,  the  lower 

branches  are  so  close  to  the     ^  ^ 

ground  that  they  do  not  get 

enough  light  and  air  to  pro- 
duce fine  fruit.  There  may 
be  some  truth  in  this,  but  it 
has  never  seemed  to  the  writer 
that  it  was  a  very  serious  mat- 
ter. The  fruit  on  the  lower 
branches  of  any  tree  is  not  so 
good  as  that  from  the  higher 
branches,  and  there  has  not 
seemed  to  be  a  very  great 
difference  between  that  from 
low  headed  and  that  from 
high  headed  trees. 

4.  An  argument  which  has 
been  advanced  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  perhaps  it  may  be 
used  elsewhere,  is  that  trees        r-     oo     .       .  cu-  u-u    ^■ 

'  _  Fig.  23. — An  extreme  case  of  high  heading, 

ought     to     be     headed     high     in        Most  work  in   the   orchard   costs    more  with 
T  ,  .1         -,  T  such  trees  than  with  low  headed  trees. 

order  to  escape  the  deer.     It 

seems  singular  that  such  an  argument  should  even  be  suggested 
seriously  but  it  has  been  quite  frequently  offered  where  States  are 
cursed  with  laws  which  protect  the  deer  at  the  expense  of  the 
farmers.  Damage  from  deer  is  a  very  live  question  with  the 
writer,  for  he  has  seen  over  two  thousand  fruit  trees,  principally 
apple,  either  killed  outright  or  so  badly  damaged  that  they  had 
to  be  replaced.  But  deer  damage  is  an  argument  for  changing 
representatives  in  the  Legislature  and  not  for  heading  the  fruit 
trees  higher. 


58  ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 

Low  Heading. — Turning  now  to  the  arguments  for  the  low 
headed  tree  we  have  the  following: 

1.  There  is  less  damage  from  winds.  This  would  apply  to 
mature  trees  where  in  summer  the  number  of  windfalls  and  in 
winter  danger  of  damage  from  ice-storm  would  be  reduced.  It 
would  also  apply  to  the  young  trees.  A  tree  such  as  is  shown  in 
Figure  23  will  be  much  more  liable  to  damage  from  winds  than 
such  a  tree  as  is  shown  in  Figure  24. 

2.  There  is  less  danger  from  sun-scald.  In  some  sections  this 
trouble  is  very  serious,  in  others  it  seldom  occurs.  In  the  former 
sections  low  heads  ought  always  to  be  used. 

3.  Spraying  can  be  done  more  cheaply  and  much  more 
thoroughly.  This  latter  is  especially  important  in  sections  where 
the  San  Jose  scale  is  abundant,  but  it  counts  with  any  spraying. 

4.  Pruning  can  be  done  more  cheaply  and  easily. 

5.  It  is  easier  and  cheaper  to  harvest  the  fruit.  As  soon  as 
a  man  has  to  use  a  ladder  to  do  his  work  he  adds  to  the  expense 
of  the  operation,  whatever  it  may  be.  The  longer  the  ladder  the 
greater  the  expense.  AVith  low  headed  peach  trees  all  the  pick- 
ing can  be  done  from  the  ground,  and  with  apples,  a  great  part 
of  it  (Fig.  24). 

6.  In  extreme  cases,  like  the  tree  shown  in  Figure  23,  and  to 
a  less  extent  in  less  extreme  cases,  the  fruiting  of  the  tree  is 
delayed  when  the  head  is  raised  because  the  oldest  branches  are 
the  lowest  ones  and  these  are  removed  to  raise  the  head. 

Several  other  minor  arguments  are  used  by  the  enthusiastic 
advocates  of  low  heads,  but  the  foregoing  are  the  most  important 
and  seem  to  fairly  well  justify  the  practice.  Of  course,  it  does 
not  necessarily  follow  that  a  tree  headed  high  will  be  allowed  to 
continue  its  growth  high,  but  this  is  usually  the  case.  The  man 
who  wants  his  trees  headed  low  usually  sees  to  it  that  the  leadei-s 
are  kept  reasonably  low.  While  the  man  who  heads  his  trees  at 
five  feet  allows  them  to  develop  into  high  trees. 

Planting  Distances. — There  are  several  general  questions 
which  will  perhaps  come  here  as  well  as  elsewhere.  The  first 
of  these  in  the  matter  of  the  proper  distance  apart  for  the  trees. 


PLANTING  DISTANCES  60 

Of  course  there  are  almost  innumerable  factors  which  influence 
this,  the  most  important  being  the  kind  of  trees,  the  individual 
taste  of  the  owner,  the  soil  and  the  method  of  pruning  to  be 
adopted. 

Some  varieties  of  apples  make  large  trees  and  some  never 
attain  much  size.  The  Spy  or  the  Baldwin,  for  example,  want 
more  room  than  the  Palmer  Greening  and  the  Wagener. 

Some  soils  will  grow  large  trees  of  a  certain  variety  while  on 
other  soils  the  same  variety  is  relatively  small.  The  orchard 
shown  in  Figure  108,  for  example,  is  a  block  of  Baldwins  prob- 
ably not  far  from  thirty  years  old.  They  are  planted  at  33 
feet  apart  and  yet  there  is  plenty  of  rrom  for  them.  They 
will  never  make  large  trees. 


Ftq.  24. — A  low  headed,  five-vear-old,  peach  tree.     This  tree  was  headed  at  six  inches. 

The  kind  of  pruning  also  makes  a  great  difference.  If  the 
owner  plans  to  give  the  trees  free  range  they  will  need  far  more 
room  than  if  he  practises  more  or  less  repressive  pruning. 

When  all  these  points  are  considered  the  following  are  about 
the  average  distances  recommended: 

Apples   30  to  50  feet 

Pears    20  to  30  feet 

Peaches    13  to  20  feet 

Plums 15  to  20  feet 

Cherries   15  to  25  feet 

Quinces    8  to  12  feet 


60  ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 

Number  per  Acre, — The  following  table  gives  the  number  of 
trees  per  acre  that  can  be  set  at  the  distances  given.  If  one 
wishes  to  ascertain   how  many  trees  can  be   planted  on  an  acre 


Fig.  25. — ^An  apple  tree  with  a  medium  head,  about  thirty  inches.     Thisis  agoodfaeigui 
for  many  varieties,  though  the  writer  prefers  a  somewhat  lower  head. 
FiQ.  26. — A  poor  fork  on  a  Ben  Davis  apple  tree.     Such  a  fork  is  almost  certain  to 
split  down  as  soon  as  the  tree  begins  to  bear  heavy  crops.    The  two  side  branches  should 
have  been  cut  off  earlier. 

at  other  distances  than  those  given,  multiply  tlie  number  of  feet 
that  the  rows  are  apart  by  the  distance  apart  of  the  trees  in  the 
row  and  then  divide  43,560  by  the  product  obtained. 

8  feet— 680 
10  feet— 544 
12  feet— 453 


8  X 
8  X 
8  X 
10  X 
10  X 
10  X 
12  X 


10  feet— 435 
12  feet— 363 
20  feet— 217 
12  feet— 302 
12  X  20  feet— 181 
15  X  15  feet— 193 
15   X  20  feet— 145 

15  X   30  feet—  96 

16  X    16  feet— 170 
16  X  20  feet— 136 


16 

X 

32  feet—  85 

20 

X 

20 

feet— 108 

20 

X 

30  feet—  72 

20 

X 

40  feet—  54 

25 

X 

25  feeir-  69 

25 

X 

30 

feet—  58 

25 

X 

40 

feet—  43 

30 

X 

30 

feet—  48 

30 

X 

35 

feet—  41 

30 

X 

40 

feet—  36 

35 

X 

35 

feet—  35 

35 

X 

40 

feet—  31 

40 

X 

40  feet—  27 

KINDS  TO  USE  AS  FILLERS  61 

Orchard  Fillers. — The  question  of  the  use  of  ' '  fillers  ' '  in  the 
orchard  is  a  vexed  one.  A  filler  is  a  temporary  tree,  usually  a 
small  and  early  bearing  one,  which  is  planted  between  the  per- 
manent trees  and  removed  (sometimes)  when  it  begins  to  crowd 
them.  Most  men  have  very  definite  opinions  on  the  filler,  either 
condemning  it  altogether  or  favoring  it  with  equal  decision. 
The  matter  simply  narrows  down  to  this,  or  it  ought  to :  If  a  man 
can  make  more  money  out  of  growing  fillers  in  the  orchard  than 
he  can  out  of  any  other  crop,  then  they  are  the  best  crop  to  grow. 
If  beans  or  potatoes  or  cabbages  will  bring  him  more  money,  then 
he  should  grow  these  crops  and  not  fillers. 

The  chief  objection  urged  against  the  use  of  fillers  in  the 
orchard  is  that  they  are  not  cut  out  as  soon  as  they  should  be. 
The  owner  holds  onto  them  from  year  to  year  in  order  to  get  a 
revenue  from  them.  If  they  have  not  borne  much  fruit  he  feels 
that  he  must  hold  onto  them  until  they  come  into  bearing  and  he 
"  gets  his  money  out  of  them."  If  they  are  bearing  well  then 
he  feels  that  he  simply  cannot  destroy  the  source  of  so  much 
income.  Now  while  the  writer  is  strongly  in  favor  of  the  filler 
system  for  his  own  use  and  believes  that  it  ought  to  be  possible 
for  a  man  to  cut  the  fillers  out  in  season,  yet  there  is  no  question 
that  the  method  does  often  fail. 

This  filler  question  is  in  exactly  the  same  class  as  the  sod- 
mulch  question.  Where  either  one  is  well  carried  out  it  gives 
good  results,  but  both  of  them  tempt  the  owner  to  do  what  is  not 
for  the  best  interest  of  the  orchard,  in  the  one  case  by  hauling  off 
the  hay  and  in  the  other  by  holding  onto  the  fillers.  As  most  of  us 
yield  to  temptations,  it  is  best  not  to  put  any  extra  ones  in  our 
own  paths  unless  we  are  pretty  sure  that  we  can  resist  them.  The 
man  who  keeps  stock  ought  not  to  have  a  sod  orchard,  and  the 
man  who  can  not  bring  himself  to  prune  a  tree  severely  enough 
or  to  thin  fruit  "  because  it  is  such  a  waste  "  had  better  not  try 
the  filler  system. 

Kinds  to  Use  as  Fillers. — But  for  the  man  who  can  and  will 
handle  it  rightly,  it  is  a  good  system.  If  a  man  is  going  to  use 
fillers  he  is  most  likely  to  be  successful  if  he  uses  for  the  purpose 


ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 


fe.. 


COST  OF  THE  YOUNG  ORCHARD  63 

a  tree  which  very  closely  resembles  his  permanent  tree  in  its 
needs,  which  comes  into  bearing  early,  and  which  makes  a  small 
tree  (Fig.  27).  This  means  that  peaches  make  the  best  fillers 
for  peach  orchards  and  apples  for  apple  orchards.  Many  people 
make  light  of  this  point  but  others  consider  it  a  decidedly  practi- 
cal one.  Here  is  an  illustration  of  the  evil  effects  of  mixing 
species  in  setting  an  orchard:  An  apple  orchard  was  set  and 
peaches  were  used  for  fillers.  All  went  well  until  the  peaches 
were  damaged  severely  one  winter.  Then  it  became  desirable  to 
help  the  peaches  to  recover  and  the  orchard  was  therefore  given 
an  application  of  nitrate  of  soda,  which  brought  them  out  in 
good  condition.  But  the  apple  trees  did  not  need  this  extra 
nitrogen.  They  were  just  coming  nicely  into  bearing,  but  they  at 
once  stopped  producing  fruit  and  began  to  produce  wood.  It 
was  years  before  they  recovered  from  the  extra  stimulus  and 
went  to  bearing  again. 

Now  we  may  say  that  the  owner  was  foolish;  that  he  should 
have  done  what  was  best  for  his  permanent  trees  and  let  his 
peach  trees  go.  But  it  is  hiunan  nature  to  try  to  take  care  of 
what  is  producing  a  revenue  and  it  is  certainly  a  weak  spot  in 
any  system,  whether  it  be  orcharding  or  municipal  politics, 
which  requires  a  man  to  do  otherwise. 

Cost  of  the  Young  Orchard. —  It  may  be  well  to  say  a  word 
here  in  reference  to  the  cost  of  establishing  an  orchard.  Of 
course  this  can  be  only  suggestive,  as  expenses  vary  greatly  with 
different  men  and  different  sections  and  different  years.  The 
following  figures  are  from  the  writer's  actual  experience  in 
starting  an  orchard.  They  are  by  no  means  complete  and  leave 
out  many  factors,  such  as  interest  and  taxes,  which  ought  to  be 
included.  They  may  be  helpful,  however,  and  are  introduced 
merely  with  that  hope  and  with  the  distinct  realization  by  the 
writer  that  they  can  be  only  suggestive. 


64  ESTABLISHING  THE  ORCHARD 

Cost  per  acre  of  establishing  and  maintaining  an  orchard  for  five  years. 

riEST  TEAH 

1.  Trees— 108  @  15  cents $1G.20 

2.  Fitting  land,   setting  and   pruning   trees    6.48 

3.  Fertilizing     l.CO 

4.  Cultivating    4.50 

5.  Cover  crop — buckwheat  seed  and  sowing  1.00 

6.  Clearing  away  trash   from  trees  in  autumn  to  prevent 

mice  damage    -50 


SECOND  YEAR 

1.  Pruning     $2.50 

2.  Fertilizing     (same     as     first    year    except    double    the 

nitrogen)      1.75 

3.  Fitting    the    land    with    disc    3.00 

4.  Cultivation    4.50 

5.  Hoeing     1.00 

6.  Cover  crop — cow  horn  turnips .75 

7.  Clearing  away  trasli  in  autumn   .50 

$14.60 

THIRD  YEAR 

1.  Pruning   $3.00 

2.  Fertilizing — double  second  year   3.50 

3.  Fitting  the  land    3.60 

4.  Cultivating   4.50 

5.  Hoeing   1.00 

6.  Spraying  for   San   Jose   scale    4.10 

7.  Cover  crop    1.00 

8.  Clearing  away  trash    .50 


$21.20 


FOURTH  TEAR 

Total   cost  only  slightly  more   than   third  year. 


FIFTH  YEAR 

1.  Pruning     $4.50 

2.  Fertilizing     5.25 

3.  Fitting    the    land    3.60 

4.  Cultivating     4.50 

6.  Hoeing     1-00 

G.  Spraying    5.25 

7.  Cover  crop— crimson  clover    1.20 

$25.30 


QUESTIONS  65 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Discuss  the  preparation  of  the  land  for  an  orchard. 

2.  Describe  tliree  geueral  metliods  of  arranging  the  trees  in  an  orchard. 

3.  Give  the  details  of  a  good  method  of  laying  off  an  orchard. 

4.  What  is  a  "planting  board,"  and  how  is  it  helpful? 

5.  Describe  the  operation  of  heeling  in  trees. 

6.  Give  the  arguments  on  "  fall  vs.  spring  "  planting. 

7.  Give  the  main  arguments  in  favor  of  high  heading  of  orchard  trees. 

8.  What  are  the  arguments  in  favor  of  low  heading  ? 

9.  What   orchards   in   your    section   would  you   classify   as   high  headed? 

What   low  headed? 

10.  Give  some  idea  of  the  best  planting  distances  for  different  orchard  trees. 

11.  Discuss  the  use  of  "  fillers"  in  an  orchard. 

12.  Give  some  idea  of  cost  of  starting  a  young  orchard  in  your  own  section. 


CHAPTER  V 

CROPPING  THE  ORCHARD 

One  of  the  questions  which  comes  home  very  forcibly  to  the 
man  who  attempts  to  develop  an  orchard  of  any  size  is  that  of 
growing  companion  crops  in  the  orchard  while  it  is  young.  Shall 
this  be  done  and  if  so  what  crops  shall  be  used?  The  idea  of 
such  a  crop  is  to  help  defray  the  cost  of  the  orchard,  and  con- 
sequently it  nMist  either  be  a  crop,  such  as  mangels  or  turnips, 


Fig.  28. — Late  potatoes  in  a  younK  pi;uli  orchard.   An  oixellent  crop  wlien  rightly  managed. 

which  can  be  used  profitably  by  the  owner  on  the  farm,  or  else 
it  must  be  a  crop  such  as  beans  or  soybeans,  which  can  be  dis- 
posed of  for  cash.  The  general  farmer  who  keeps  stock  has, 
therefore,  a  distinct  advantage  over  the  orchard  specialist  in  the 
choice  of  these  companion  crops,  because  a  number  of  the  best 
of  them  are  such  as  will  work  in  very  nicely  with  the  plans  for 
feeding  stock  or  keeping  dairy  cows. 

For  several  years,  say  four  or  five  as  a  rule,  it  is  greatly  to 
the  advantage  of  the  young  trees  if  the  orchard  is  cropped,  pro- 
66 


THE  IDEAL  COMPANION  CROP 


67 


vided,  of  course,  that  the  proper  crops  are  chosen.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  on  general  farms  where  there  are  other  crops  than 
the  orchard  to  compete  for  the  time  of  men  and  teams.  If  the 
potato  field  is  in  the  orchard,  both  are  cultivated  together,  and 
the  trees  are  not  only  well  cultivated,  but  receive  the  benefit  of 
the  fertilizer  left  over  from  the  potato  crop  (Fig.  28).  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  potato  field  is  in  one  place  and  the  orchard  is  in 
another,  the  potatoes  frequently  get  the  cultivation  when  labor 
is  scarce,  while  the  cultivation  of  the  orchard  is  either  deferred 


29. — Soybeans  aa  a  companion  crop.    This  is  one  of  the  best  crops  for  a  young  orchard, 
enriching  the  land  and  usually  giving  profitable  returns. 

to  a  more  convenient  time  or  omitted  altogether,  because  the 
farmer  knows  that  he  will  get  no  crop  if  his  potatoes  are  not 
cultivated  while  his  trees  will  do  something  even  with  verj^  in- 
different culture. 

The  ideal  companion  crop  would  have  the  following  char- 
acteristics, and  though  the  ideal  does  not  exist  we  can  frequently 
come  fairly  close  to  it: 

1.  The  crop  must  be  profitable,  either  because  it  can  be  sold 
for  cash  or  because  it  can  be  fed  \vith  profit  to  the  stock  on  the 
farm  (Fig.  29).     This  point,  of  course,  is  imperative.     The  list 


68  CROPPING  THE  ORCHARD 

of  crops  which  are  admissible  will  vary  greatly  with  the  owner's 
circumstances.  As  already  suggested  the  farm  on  which  stock 
is  kept  can  profitably  use  a  number  of  crops  which  can  not  be 
grown  on  the  special  fruit  farm.  And  these  crops  happen  to  be 
among  the  most  satisfactory  in  their  relation  to  the  orchard. 
The  man  who  is  in  the  trucking  business,  or  who  is  so  situated 
that  he  can  handle  truck  crops,  has  another  large  selection  of 
crops  which  are  almost  ideal  so  far  as  the  orchard  is  concerned, 
but  these  crops  can  not  usually  be  grown  in  sections  far  from 
markets.  It  follows  then  that  the  orchard  specialist  has  the 
smallest  number  of  companion  crops  from  which  to  choose. 

2.  The  crop  should  be  one  which  requires  cultivation.  There 
is  absolutely  no  question  about  this  unless  it  be  in  the  case  of 
crops  sown  late  in  the  season  which  are  really  cover  crops  rather 
than  companion  crops.  Tliis  matter  of  cultivation  is  a  point 
frequently  overlooked  by  men  who  grow  crops  in  their  orchards, 
but  we  are  speaking  of  the  ideal  crops  now.  And  the  more 
thorough  the  cultivation  which  is  required  by  the  crop  the  better 
for  the  orchard. 

3.  It  ought  to  be  a  crop  which  does  not  require  late  stirring 
of  the  soil,  say  in  August  or  September.  September  work  is 
particularly  objectionable.  The  philosophy  of  this  point  will  be 
seen  on  a  moment's  reflection,  and  the  importance  of  it  has  been 
demonstrated  to  the  writer  over  and  over  again,  though  always, 
he  is  glad  to  say,  by  other  people.  The  young  trees  make  their 
growth  early  in  the  season  and  by  August,  and  still  more  by 
September,  they  are  "  sobering  down  "  and  thickening  their 
cells  and  beginning  to  get  ready  for  winter.  Now  suppose  one  is 
growing  such  a  crop  as  early  potatoes  for  example.  Just  at  the 
point  where  the  trees  want  quiet  the  owner  comes  in  with  his 
gang  of  men  or  his  potato  digger  and  gives  the  soil  the  most 
thorough  working  it  has  had  since  the  spring  plowing.  The  re- 
sult is  that  the  trees  are  urged  into  new  growth,  new  food  is 
made  available  for  them  and  they  go  merrily  forward  till  cold 
weather  comes  on  and  checks  them  short.  There  is  no  time 
then  to  prepare  for  the  more  severe  weather  which  follows  and 
consequently  the  cambium  or  growing  layer,  between  the  bark 


THE  IDEAL  COMPANION  CROP  69 

and  wood,  is  soft  and  tender  and  no  more  able  to  resist  freezing 
than  a  potato  or  a  turnip.  It  is  therefore  killed  outriglit  or 
severely  damaged  and  the  next  year  the  trees,  though  they  may 
leaf  out,  will  be  found  in  a  very  bad  condition.  ]\Iany  of  them 
will  probably  die,  and  others  might  as  well  do  so,  for  they  will 
be  so  badly  crippled  as  to  be  of  little  value. 

4.  The  companion  crop  should  be  one  which  does  not  take 
from  the  soil  exactly  the  same  food  elements  as  the  trees  them- 
selves require.  This  is  aimed  especially  at  nursery  stock,  which 
for  several  reasons  is  a  peculiarly  objectionable  crop,  but  it 


Fia.  30. — Pea-beans  as   .ui   oicl.aiJ   crop.     This  is  another  excellent  crop  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  orchard. 

probably  applies  with  more  or  less  force  to  all  fruit  crops.  Of 
course  this  is  a  difficulty  which  can  be  obviated  to  a  certain 
extent  by  applying  extra  fertilizer,  but  it  is  far  better  to  choose 
some  other  crop. 

5.  It  should  be  an  annual  crop.  Anyone  who  has  ever 
attempted  to  crop  an  orchard  with  even  a  biennial  crop  like 
strawberries,  or  still  worse  with  a  perennial  one  like  raspberries, 
will  appreciate  the  importance  of  this  point.  Cross-cultivation 
is  usually  entirely  prevented  after  the  first  year,  the  block  grows 
more  and  more  weedy  and  the  trees  in  the  block  show  more  and 
more  distinctly  the  handicap  under  which  they  are  working,  till 


70  CROPPING  THE  ORCHARD 

very  soon  one  may  easily  pick  out,  at  a  considerable  distance,  the 
section  of  the  orchard  where  the  perennial  crop  is  located  by  the 
small  size  of  the  trees  and  the  light  color  of  their  leaves.  Of 
course  it  is  possible  by  extra  effort  in  the  way  of  hand  labor,  and 
by  extra  fertilizing  with  good  barn  manure^  to  overcome  to  a 
certain  extent  the  bad  effects  of  the  crop,  but  these  are  expensive 
methods  to  use  and  to  a  very  large  extent  they  take  away  any 
profit  which  might  accrue  from  the  crop.  Usually  they  are  not 
even  attempted.  It  is  much  better  to  use  an  annual  crop  which 
is  cleared  off  the  land  each  year  and  which  thus  allows  of 
thorough  preparation  of  the  soil  each  spring. 

6.  Lastly,  and  least  important,  though  still  well  worth  con- 
sidering, the  crop  should  be  one  which  makes  its  growth  at  some 
other  time  than  that  in  which  the  orchard  makes  its  most  vigorous 
growth.  This  is  one  reason  why  beans,  for  example,  are  to  be 
preferred  to  currants.  The  beans  are  not  planted  until  the  trees 
are  at  the  height  of  their  growth,  and  they  do  not  begin  to  draw  at 
all  heavily  on  the  soil  moisture  and  plant  food  until  the  trees 
have  come  to  a  point  where  they  can  easily  and  even  advan- 
tageously spare  a  part  of  both  moisture  and  plant  food.  The 
currants,  on  the  other  hand,  come  along  at  precisely  the  same 
time  as  the  trees  and  compete  with  them  step  by  step  for  both 
fertility  and  water. 

Area  Reserved  for  Trees. — It  ought  to  be  said,  before  going 
farther,  that  in  any  scheme  of  cropping  the  orchard  a  certain 
portion  of  land  must  be  reserved  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
trees.  This  will  vary  with  different  crops  and  with  the  age  of 
the  trees,  but  as  a  rule  a  strip  six  or  eight  feet  wnde  along  each 
row  of  trees  should  be  reserved  the  first  year  and  this  should  be 
enlarged  year  by  year  as  the  trees  grow. 

Lists  of  Companion  Crops. — With  the  above  requirements  in 
mind  the  writer  has  chosen  the  following  list  of  companion  crops 
and  has  attempted  to  arrange  them  under  three  classes — gooil, 
bad  and  indifferent.  They  are  also  arranged  in  the  different 
sections  roughly  in  the  order  of  their  value  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  orchard,  the  most  objectionable  ones  coming  last. 


GOOD  COMPANION  CROPS 


71 


Good  Companion  Crops. — 1.  Beam. — Any  variety  will  be 
satisfactory  to  the  orchard,  but  especially  the  white  pea-beau. 
The  soybean  is  also  admirable.  There  is  almost  no  objec- 
tion to  these  crops.  They  are  usually  profitable,  are  sown  late, 
add  nitrogen  to  the  soil,  and  no  damage  arises  from  their  use. 
When  removed  from  the  orchard  the  root  systems  are  usually 
left  in  the  soil,  Avhich  adds  both,  humus  and  nitrogen. 

2.  Squash  is  another  excellent  crop,  coming  along  with  a 
rush  late  in  the  season  when  the  orchard  ought  to  "sober 
down,"  never  competing  with  the  trees,  and  frequently  giving 


Fig.  31. — Squashes  as  an  orchard  crop.     They  are  an  excellent,  crop  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  orchard  and  where  the  owner  can  handle  them  rightly  are  usually  profitable. 


good  financial  returns.  It  can  be  marketed  in  a  wholesale  way, 
which  is  not  true  of  all  crops  and  which  is  frequently  a  decided 
advantage  to  the  orchard  owner  (Fig.  31). 

3.  Cahhage. — This  is  another  decidedly  satisfactory  com- 
panion crop.  It  usually  commands  a  fair  price  and  can  be 
(handled  in  car-load  lots  if  the  orchard  is  of  some  size.  It  is 
nearly  ideal  so  far  as  its  effect  on  the  trees  is  concerned  The 
only  objection  to  it  is  that  it  requires  cultivation  later  than  the 
trees  do,  but  if  the  strip  already  spoken  of  is  reserved  there  is 
usuallv  no  trouble. 


72 


CROPPING  THE  ORCHARD 


4.  Turnips  and  Mangels. — These  are  both  excellent  crops 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  orchard,  but  of  course  are  not 
"  cash  "  crops  as  a  rule  and  must  usually  be  restricted  to  the 
man  who  keeps  stock.  It  might  be  possible  in  some  cases  to 
grow  them  for  a  neighbor  who  keeps  stock,  but  generally  they 
must  be  fed  on  the  place. 

5.  Late  Potatoes. — The  writer  would  bar  out  early  potatoes, 
unless  a  very  wide  strip  is  reserved  along  the  tree  rows,  which  is 


Fig.  32. — Potatoes  in  a  bearing  apple  orchard.   They  make  a  good  orchard  crop,  but  in  this 
case  are  planted  too  close  to  the  trees. 


an  unnecessary  waste  of  land.  But  late  potatoes  are  dug  so  late 
in  the  season  that  they  do  not  tend  to  prolong  the  growth  of  the 
trees  and  they  are  generally  a  profitable  and  satisfactory  crop. 
They  require  good  cultivation  and  high  fertilizing  and  it  is 
rare  that  they  do  not  show  a  reasonable  profit  (Fig.  32). 

6.    Truck  Crops,  such  as  spinach,  beets,  peas,  and  carrots, 
are  all  good  crops  and  if  handled  carefully  will  generally  give 


FAIRLY  SATISFACTORY  CROPS  73 

fine  results.  They  need  good  land  and  good  cultivation,  which 
help  out  the  orchard  trees.  One  difficulty  with  them  which 
ought  to  be  guarded  against  by  the  orchard  owner  is  the  fact 
that  they  usually  require  a  good  deal  of  bam  manure  and  other 
forms  of  nitrogen,  and  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  get  the  land  too 
rich  for  the  best  interest  of  the  young  trees.  It  would  probably 
be  better  not  to  use  them  year  after  year  in  the  same  block  of 
orchard  but  to  practise  rotation  of  crops,  following  truck  cropjs 
with  squash  and  this  with  beans. 

7.  Coi'n. — There  is  some  prejudice  against  corn,  and  perhaps 
rightly,  because  it  is  a  rank  feeder  and  is  likely  to  get  more  than 
its  share  of  food  and  moisture ;  also  because  its  great  height  tends 
to  shade  the  young  trees.  But  if  it  is  not  grown  too  close  to  the 
trees  and  if  the  rows  are  run  north  and  south  so  that  the  sun  can 
get  at  the  trees  when  its  power  is  greatest,  the  objections  will 
usually  be  overcome,  and  the  writer  knows  from  experience  that 
it  may  work  out  satisfactorily.  It  is  a  crop  that  is  usually  profit- 
able. If  the  farm  is  an  orchard  proposition  pure  and  simple,  the 
grain  from  corn  can  be  fed  to  teams  on  the  place  and  even  the  fod- 
der may  be  used  in  this  way  in  winter,  if  there  is  no  winter  work 
for  the  teams.  Probably  it  would  be  better  to  restrict  this  crop 
to  popcorn  or  to  flint  varieties  which  do  not  make  tall  stalks,  and 
it  is  perhaps  better  not  to  grow  corn  after  the  third  year  of  the 
orchard,  though  there  are  many  exceptions  to  these  suggestions. 

8.  Buckivheai. — This  is  really  a  combination  cover  crop  and 
companion  crop,  but  is  included  here  because  it  is  a  reasonably 
satisfactory  money  crop  to  be  grown  in  the  orchard.  Of  course, 
in  order  to  get  the  money  out  of  it  one  has  to  cut  the  crop  and 
remove  it  from  the  orchard,  which  is  strictly  against  the  rules 
for  a  cover  crop.  But  that  is  something  the  grower  has  to  learn 
to  do  "  when  necessary,"  if  he  is  going  to  run  an  orchard.  The 
difficult  thing  to  learn  is  when  it  is  necessary. 

Fairly  Satisfactory  Crops. — 9.  Currants  and  Gooseherries, 
if  the  bushes  are  set  In  rows  both  ways  to  allow  for  cultivation, 
are  often  quite  satisfactory.  The  fact  that  they  are  perennial 
and  that  they  make  their  growth  each  season  at  exactly  the  same 
tune  m  the  orchard  is  tlie  chief  objection  to  them,    But  they  re- 


74 


CROPPING  THE  ORCHARD 


quire  good  culture  and  fertilizing  if  they  are  to  be  profitable, 
which  makes  them  acceptable  to  the  young  trees.  They  do  not 
spread,  which  makes  them  at  least  less  objectionable  than  some 
other  crops. 

10.  Straivherries. — For  young  orchards,  where  there  is  still 
plenty  of  room,  these  are  not  bad  (Fig.  33).  But  they  tie  up  the 
land  for  two  years  at  least,  and  with  many  growers  much  longer 
than  that.     They  can  not  be  cross-cultivated,  so  that  the  tree 


Fig.  33. — Sirawhcrncs  in  a  young  peach  orchard.  They  make  a  fairly  good  crop  for 
very  young  orchards,  but  interfere  with  cross-cultivation,  as  they  occupy  the  land  at  least 
two  years. 


rows  are  apt  to  become  foul  with  weeds  and  the  trees  to  show 
the  lack  of  thorough  cultivation  by  the  second  year.  If  the 
beds  are  held  for  more  than  one  crop  of  berries,  the  damage  to 
the  trees  is  y&cj  markedly  increased.  Personally  the  writer 
would  not  use  strawberries  except  during  the  first  and  second 
years  of  the  orchard  and  even  then  there  are  many  other  crops 
to  be  preferred.  A  great  point  in  favor  of  strawberries  is  the 
fact  that  they  generally  pay  well.  This  is  something  that  will  be 
appreciated  by  the  man  who  tries  to  develop  a  good  sized  orchard. 


POOR  COMPANION  CROPS  75 

The  question  of  the  advisability  of  growing  strawberries  in  an 
orchard  practically  narrows  down  to  whether  the  orchard  is 
to  be  intensively  cultivated  or  not.  If  it  is,  then  with  a  littl" 
extra  work  the  tree  rows  can  be  kept  clean.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  owner  wants  to  manage  the  orchard  with  as  little  labor  as 
possible  he  will  almost  certainly  fail  to  keep  it  even  reasonably 
clean  with  strawberries  growing  in  it. 

11.  Asparagus  is  not  often  used  and  has  the  serious  objection 
that  it  must  stand  in  the  orchard  for  a  number  of  years,  yet 
cases  are  occasionally  seen  where  it  is  used  with  very  good 
success. 

Poor  Companion  Crops. — 12.  Rasphcrries  and  hlackherries 
ought  practically  to  be  debarred  as  orchard  crops.  The  long 
period  that  they  have  to  stand,  the  difficulty  or  impossibility  of 
cross-cultivation,  and  the  fact  that  they  sucker  so  freely  are  the 
chief  objections.  These  can  be  overcome  by  hand  labor,  by  barn 
manure,  and  by  the  free  use  of  other  fertilizers.  Ordinarily, 
however,  it  is  the  young  trees  that  are  overcome  and  not  the 
difficulties. 

13.  Nursery  Stock. — The  growing  of  this  crop  in  the  orchard 
is  seldom  practised  and  almost  always  with  regret  so  far  as  its 
effect  on  the  orchard  trees  is  concerned.  It  grows  at  exactly  the 
same  time  as  the  young  orchard  trees,  takes  out  the  same  fertilizer 
elements,  and  uses  moisture  at  the  same  time.  And  it  usually 
stands  two  or  three  years.  On  the  whole  it  is  much  better  to  put 
the  nursery  somewhere  else. 

14.  Grains  of  all  kinds  should  be  strictly  ruled  out.  They 
have  only  one  redeeming  feature  and  that  is  that  they  are  annual 
crops.  But  they  are  not  cultivated,  they  prevent  cross-cultivation 
of  the  trees,  they  rob  the  trees  of  moisture,  and  the  part  of  the 
orchard  where  they  are  grown  will  always  show  the  injurious 
effects,  at  the  time  and  frequently  for  several  years  after. 

15.  Hay. — Never  use  it.  It  is  the  last  crop  in  our  list  and  is 
placed  there  because  it  is  regarded  as  "  the  limit."  There  are 
a  few  sod  enthusiasts  who  claim  to  be,  and  probably  are,  success- 
ful in  starting  young  trees  in  sod.  But  most  growers,  even 
though  they  resort  to  sod  later  oel,  start  their  trees  under  eulti- 


76  CROPPING  THE  ORCHARD 

vation.  Hay  competes  at  every  step  with  the  young  trees,  robbing 
them  of  moisture  and  plant  food  when  they  most  need  them,  and 
providing  excellent  conditions  for  injurious  insects  of  various 
kinds,  and  when  the  hay  is  harvested  the  trees  are  liable  to  all 
sorts  of  accidents  from  the  mowing  machine,  the  rake,  and  the 
hay  wagons.  If  you  are  tempted  to  use  hay,  by  all  means  resist 
the  temptation ! 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What    are    the    characteristics    of    an    ideal    companion    crop    for    the 

orchard  ? 

2.  How  many  years  should  such  crops  be  used  in  the  orchard? 

3.  How  should  the  land  along  the  tree  rows  be  treated? 

Discuss  each  of  the  following  as  companion  crops  for  orchards: 

4.  Beans.  12.  Currants  and  gooseberries, 

5.  Squash.  13.  Strawberries. 

6.  Cabbage.  14.  Asparagus. 

7.  Turnips  and  mangels.                       15.  Raspberries  and  blackberries. 

8.  Potatoes.  16.  Nursery  stock. 

9.  Truck  crops.  17.  Grains. 

10.  Corn.  18.  Hay. 

11.  Buckwheat. 


CHAPTER  YI 

ORCHARD  CULTURE 

Three  Methods. — Having  set  out  the  orchard  the  next  ques- 
tion to  be  decided  is  what  type  of  culture  it  is  to  receive.  Ou 
this  point  orchard  men  are  divided  into  three  camps :  First,  there 
are  a  few  men  like  ]\Ir.  Grant  Hitchings,  of  New  York,  and  Mr. 
A.  A.  Marshall,  of  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts,  who  practise  what 
may  be  called  ' '  sod  culture, ' '  that  is  all  the  grass  grown  in  the 
orchard  is  simply  cut  and  allowed  to  lie  on  the  land  as  a  mulch. 
Of  course  this  mulch  becomes  thicker  j^ear  by  year,  forming  a 
better  and  better  protection  against  the  loss  of  moisture  by 
evaporation  and  as  it  decays  adding  humus  to  the  soil. 

Second,  there  are  the  men  who  practise  clean  cultivation  of 
the  soil.  By  far  the  greatest  number  of  really  successful  orchard- 
ists  belong  to  this  class.  There  are  endless  variations  in  the 
method  as  practised  by  different  men,  but  the  main  features 
would  be  plowing  the  orchard  in  the  spring,  clean  cultivation 
up  to  mid-summer,  and  then  seeding  down  to  a  cover  crop. 

Lastly,  there  is  a  very  large  class  who  have  their  orchards 
in  sod  but  who  can  not,  by  any  stretch  of  the  imagination,  be  said 
to  practise  sod  culture.  They  simply  have  their  orchards  in 
hayfields.  Perhaps  it  is  only  fair  to  add  that  there  are  a  few 
men  who  have  their  orchards  on  relatively  heavy  land  and  who 
practise  generous  fertilizing  who  are  quite  successful  in  raising 
both  hay  and  apples  on  the  same  land.  But  their  conditions  and 
their  characters  are  so  exceptional  that  it  is  dangerous  to  even 
mention  them. 

Methods  Vary  with  Conditions. — There  is  no  question  what- 
ever that  the  type  of  culture  which  it  is  best  to  adopt  varies 
with  conditions.  Under  most  conditions  cultivation  will  most 
emphatically  give  the  best  results  (Fig.  34).  And  yet  there  are 
enough  orchards  where  sod  culture  is  practised  to  show  that  it 
can  be  made  successful.    And  there  are  many  cases  where  cultiva- 

77 


78 


ORCHARD  CULTURE 


tion  is  out  of  the  question  and  where  sod  culture  must  be  adopted 
because  it  is  the  only  rational  method  that  will  fit  the  circum- 
stances. The  great  difficulty  is  that  this  method,  to  be  most 
successful,  requires  not  only  peculiar  soil  conditions  but  still 
more  a  peculiar  type  of  man,  and  it  is  rare  that  one  finds  both 
the  man  and  the  conditions  on  the  same  farm. 

However,  the  question  is  not  by  any  means  settled,  and 
therefore  it  is  important  to  sum  up  the  points  in  favor  of  each 
of  these  methods  as  advanced  by  their  advocates. 


-Clean  cultivation  in  an  old  renovated  orrhnrd.     With  mnat  mm  nnc)  iindor  most 
conditions  cultivation  will  give  the  best  results. 


Sod  Culture. — For  sod  culture  the  principal  arguments 
advanced  are: 

1.  It  is  not  so  expensive  a  method  of  caring  for  the  soil.  This 
is  certainly  correct,  as  the  only  expense  is  the  cutting  of  the 
grass  in  the  orchard  once  or  twice  a  year  (Fig.  35).  But  unless 
it  can  be  shown  that  with  this  less  expense  the  grower  gets  the 
same  or  nearly  the  same  net  returns  this  is  not  a  very  strong 
argument. 

2.  The  fruit  will  keep  longer.  This  would  apply  to  apples 
and  pears  in  particular,  and  is  probably  also  true.     The  fruit 


SOD  CULTURE 


79 


is  usually  smaller  than  that  grown  under  cultivation,  which 
means  a  more  solid  flesh  that  naturally  does  not  break  down  so 
soon.  While  keeping  quality  is  not  so  important  as  it  was  when 
storage  facilities  were  poorer,  still  it  is  certainly  worth 
considering. 

3.  The  fi-uit  is  more  highly  colored.  Probably  this  will  hold 
good  as  a  general  rule  because  the  tree  under  sod  culture  is 
likely  to  ripen  up  more  quickly  and  the  fruit  is  therefore  given 


Fia.  35. — Mowing  the  grass  in  a  sod  orchard.     The  difficulty  comes  in  resisting  the  temp- 
tation to  rake  it  and  put  it  in  the  barn. 

earlier  in  the  season  the  maturity  which  favors  coloring  in  the 
autumn.  Cultivated  orchards  sometimes  are  given  too  late  culti- 
vation or  othei-wise  supplied  with  too  much  nitrogen,  which 
favors  late  growth  and  consequently  poor  color.  Also  the  foliage 
on  trees  that  are  cultivated  is  usually  more  dense,  which  in  itself 
will  retard  coloring  by  keeping  off  the  sun. 

4.  Trees  can  be  headed  lower  when  grown  in  sod.  This  may 
or  may  not  be  true.  If  the  reasons  for  low  heading  already 
given  are  accepted,  it  probably  makes  little  difference  whether 


80  ORCHARD  CULTURE 

the  trees  are  in  sod  or  are  cultivated.  But  with  the  commonly 
accepted  notions  about  cultivation  and  height  of  heading,  the 
contention  is  probably  correct.  Few  people  who  have  done  the 
work  in  an  orchard  fail  to  realize  the  value  of  the  low  tree. 

5.  There  is  less  washing  on  side  hills.  This  is  an  argument 
that  appeals  to  the  writer  more  strongly  than  almost  any  other. 
There  are  thousands  of  acres  all  through  the  best  apple  growing 
sections  of  the  United  States  on  laud  which  is  too  steep  to  admit 
of  cultivation  on  account  of  the  washing  of  the  soil.  If  these 
lands  are  to  be  used  for  orchards,  and  they  are  frequently  better 
adapted  to  orcharding  than  to  any  other  purpose,  they  must 
be  kept  in  sod. 

6.  The  land  is  in  better  condition  for  the  spring  spraying 
and  pruning.  In  sections  where  a  spring  spraying  is  necessary, 
as  with  San  Jose  scale,  and  where  the  weather  of  spring  is 
variable,  as  it  is  in  most  orchard  countries,  this  is  really  an  im- 
portant advantage  and  will  appeal  to  the  man  who  has  slopped 
about  in  the  mud  in  either  spraying  or  pruning.  It  would  not  in 
itself  justify  one  in  adopting  the  sod  method,  but  it  certainly 
deserves  some  weight.  It  is  sufficiently  difficult  to  get  really 
satisfactoiy  work  in  either  pruning  or  spraying,  and  anything 
that  will  assist  will  be  welcomed  by  the  man  who  has  had 
experience  along  these  lines. 

7.  The  windfalls  are  kept  in  better  condition.  This  is  not  of 
much  importance  with  winter  apples,  but  with  early  varieties  and 
with  pears  it  is  frequently  of  decided  importance.  Men  who 
have  sod-mulch  orchards  claim  that  their  windfalls  are  practically 
as  valuable  as  the  hand  picked  fruit  and  while  the  writer  does 
not  accept  this  view  entirely  he  does  believe  that  a  good  soft 
mulch  is  a  great  help. 

Some  other  claims  are  made,  but  those  mentioned  are  really 
the  most  important  ones.  Those  which  seem  to  have  the  most 
weight  are  the  prevention  of  washing  on  hillsides,  the  fact  that 
the  fruit  is  likely  to  have  better  color  and  to  keep  longer,  and 
that  the  expense  of  caring  for  the  orchard  is  less.  Of  course 
the  advocates  of  cultivation  attempt  to  demolish  this  last  argu- 
ment by  calling  the  sod  method  a  cheap  affair  anyway  and  by 


CULTIVATION  81 

claiming  that  their  method  gives  so  much  more  fniit  that  they 
can  afford  to  have  the  extra  expense. 

Cultivation. — Now  let  us  look  at  the  arguments  which  are 
advanced  in  favor  of  cultivation : 

1.  It  conserves  soil  moisture  better.  It  is  difficult  to  see 
how  any  reasonable  man  can  doubt  this.  The  sod  advocates 
attempt  to  offset  it  by  saying  that  the  sod  will  so  much  more 
effectively  prevent  the  rains  from  running  off  that  they  can 
afford  to  lose  some  moisture,  but  this  argument  does  not  quite 
"  hold  water  "  when  put  to  a  test.  As  a  matter  of  fact  several 
of  the  arguments  in  favor  of  sod,  such  as  better  color  and  better 
keeping  quality,  are  based  directly  on  the  fact  that  the  sod 
orchard  does  not  have  as  much  moisture.  When  one  remembers 
how  all-important  moisture  is  to  the  orchard  and  how  frequently 
fruit  and  trees  are  damaged  from  the  lack  of  it,  he  "can  appreciate 
the  importance  of  the  moisture  argument  as  advanced  by  the 
cultivation  men.  It  seems  to  be  the  very  backbone  of  the  cultiva- 
tion side  of  the  controversy.  With  light  soils  of  poor  water- 
holding  capacity,  this  one  argument  seems  about  all  that  it  is 
necessary  to  produce.  The  soils  and  locations  are  relatively  few 
where  lack  of  moisture  does  not,  at  some  time  during  the  year, 
interfere  with  the  best  development  of  a  crop  of  fruit. 

2.  It  renders  soil  fertility  more  available ;  or  perhaps  we 
should  reverse  that  and  say  it  renders  more  soil  fertility  avail- 
able. It  does  this  by  letting  in  the  air  and  moisture  and 
generally  by  keeping  the  soil  conditions  favorable  for  chemical 
and  bacterial  action.  This  is  a  point  not  always  conceded,  but 
the  arguments  for  cultivation  seem  very  conclusive.  With  the 
high  cost  of  fertility  it  is  certainly  a  strong  argument. 

3.  Cultivation  permits  the  use  of  leg-uminous  cover  crops  to 
furnish  nitrogen  for  the  orchard.  This  is  also  a  strong  argument 
and  one  not  easily  disproved.  It  is  quite  possible  through  such 
crops  as  clovers  and  soybeans  to  add  all  the  nitrogen  necessary 
to  an  orchard  soil.  Since  nitrogen  is  by  far  the  highest  priced 
element  in  fertilizers,  a  method  that  "  works  while  you  sleep  " 
is  certainly  welcome  to  the  man  who  pays  the  bills.  The  only 
chance  for  the  sod-culture  orchardist  in  this  direction  is  the 


82 


ORCHARD  CULTURE 


use  of  clovers  in  seeding  down  and  these  do  not  as  a  rule  persist 
very  long  in  the  orchard  sod. 

4.  There  is  less  trouble  in  cultivated  orchards  from  insects, 
notably  borers  and  eurculio.  Take  the  example  of  a  young 
orchard  in  which  many  trees  were  found  to  be  attacked  by  borers. 
It  was  a  cultivated  orchard,  but  several  sections  of  various  sizes 
had  been  allowed  to  grow  up  to  grass  and  weeds;  that  is,  had 
become  sod  sections  through  poor  cultivation.    Without  exception 

the  trees  attacked  by  borers 
were  in  these  weedy  patches. 
With  the  large  number  of  in- 
sects which  winter  either  in 
the  soil  or  in  trash  upon  the 
ground  it  could  hardly  be 
otherwise  than  that  they 
should  flourish  best  under  a 
management  which  never  dis- 
turbs the  soil  and  which 
keeps  a  constant  supply  of 
litter  to  hide  in.  The  eurculio 
is  especially  happy  in  a  sod 
orchard  and  the  "red-bug" 
seems  equally  so. 

5.  There  is  less  danger 
from  mice.  This  is  another 
argument  which  it  is  difficult 
for  the  sod-culture  advocate 
to  disprove ;  in  fact  he  usually 
frankly  admits  it  and  puts 
some  sort  of  guard  about  his  trees  to  protect  them.  An  orchard 
in  the  Annapolis  Valley,  Nova  Scotia,  may  be  cited  as  an  illustra- 
tion. The  owner  left  some  grass  in  one  corner  of  his  orchard 
one  winter  and  the  next  spring  every  tree  in  the  acre  and  a 
quarter  was  completely  girdled  by  mice.  They  were  all  bridge 
grafted  and  not  a  tree  was  lost.  When  visited  ten  years  after, 
each  tree  stood  on  stilts,  as  shown  in  Figure  36.  But  one  miglit 
not  be  so  fortunate  as  this  in  every  case  and  even  with  protectors 


FiQ.  36. — A  tree  girdled  by  mice  and  saved 
by  bridge  gralting.  This  is  entirely  practical 
and  any  good  grafter  can  do  the  work. 


METHOD  OF  CULTIVATION  83 

there  is  always  danger  of  accidents.  There  are  sections  where 
mice  are  never  troublesome,  and  in  these  localities  the  argument 
would  not  hold. 

6.  The  cultivated  orchard  yields  more  fruit.  This  is  a  diffi- 
cult point  to  prove  and  probably  never  will  be  proved  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  best  sod-culture  advocates.  General  observa- 
tion and  still  more  orchard  surveys  have  shown  that,  with  the 
rank  abd  file,  cultivation  gives  far  better  yields.  After  all  it  is 
the  average  that  counts.  A  system  may  be  ever  so  good  with  the 
exceptional  man  and  if  it  falls  down  with  the  average  man  it  is 
better  not  to  attempt  it,  for  most  of  us  are  "  average." 

7.  Cultivated  orchards  yield  larger  and  better  apples.  This 
is  another  point  which  will  never  be  admitted  by  the  sod  culturist 
and  doubtless  is  not  always  true.  But  as  in  No.  6  it  certainly  is 
true  with  the  rank  and  file  of  orchard  men. 

Removal  of  Hay  Crop. — There  is  another  argument  on  this 
question  of  "  cultivation  vs.  sod  culture,"  which  seems  very  im- 
portant and  yet  which  is  used  bj^  both  sides  to  support  their 
contentions.  This  is  the  fact  that  7nost  men  will  not  leave  the 
hay  in  the  orchard.  The  sod  men  say:  "  We  are  not  talking 
about  the  man  who  mows  the  grass  and  puts  it  in  his  bam  but 
about  the  man  who  cuts  the  grass  and  lets  it  lie  in  the  orchard. ' ' 
The  advocates  of  cultivation  say:  "  We  admit  that  sod  culture 
gives  good  results  when  properly  carried  out,  but  what  is  the  use 
of  discussing  a  metliod  which  only  a  very  few  men  will  carry  out, 
but  in  which  the  vast  majority  are  doomed  to  failure."  This 
argument  is  the  strongest  one  in  the  whole  list  and  it  is  the  one 
which  makes  many  good  orchardists  very  strong  believers  in 
cultivation.  It  must  be  admitted  without  argument  that  some 
of  the  men  who  use  sod  in  their  orchards  are  among  the  most 
successful  growers.  But  for  the  rank  and  file  of  orchard  men, 
and  particularly  for  that  great  section  of  the  fruit  growing 
fraternity  who  also  keep  some  stock,  it  seems  much  better  to 
"  remove  temptation  "  and  not  to  grow  any  hay  in  the  orchard. 

Method  of  Cultivation. — If,  then,  we  are  to  practise  cultiva- 
tion in  the  orchard,  what  methods  shall  we  use?  Stated  briefly 
the  method  most  generally  satisfactory  is  to  plow  the  land,  or 


84  ORCHARD  CULTURE 

otherwise  stir  it,  as  early  in  the  spring:  as  the  soil  is  in  good 
condition ;  then  to  cultivate  it  frequently  up  to  about  July  1, 
when  the  orchard  is  sown  to  some  cover  crop  which  is  allowed  to 
remain  on  the  land  until  the  following  spring.  This  seems  to  be 
a  simple  program  and  if  the  proper  implements  are  available  to 
work  with,  and  attention  is  given  to  the  details,  there  is  usually 
little  difficulty  in  carrying  it  out.  Yet  there  are  several  things 
that  it  is  very  desirable  to  look  after  carefully.  To  begin  with, 
the  land  ought  to  be  plowed,  and  cultivation  ought  to  be  gotten 
under  way,  just  as  early  as  possible  in  the  spring.  In  fact,  there 
are  some  men  who  advocate  and  practise  very  late  fall  plowing 
of  the  orchard. 

Fall  Plowing. — There  are  several  good  arguments  in  support 
of  this  practice.    Here   are  some  which  have  considerable  weight. 

1.  Where  land  has  been  plowed  in  the  autumn  it  can  be 
worked  earlier  in  the  spring,  not  only  because  the  operation  of 
plowing  is  out  of  the  way  but  because  plowed  land  will  dry  out 
more  quickly.  It  is  always  desirable  to  get  the  soil  in  good 
condition  and  to  push  the  trees  as  early  in  the  season  as  possible. 
Fall  plowing  is  particularly  desirable  on  rather  heavy  soils,  be- 
cause it  is  so  late  in  the  spring  before  they  are  in  proper  condition 
to  be  plowed. 

2.  It  frequently,  in  fact  usually,  happens  that  there  is  less 
work  for  the  teams  in  the  autumn  than  in  the  spring.  Often 
it  is  even  somewhat  difficult  on  an  orchard  farm  to  find  enough 
team  work  in  the  autumn,  and  if  even  a  part  of  the  orchards  can 
be  plowed  it  keeps  the  teams  busy  and  gives  the  comfortable 
assurance  that  at  least  this  much  work  will  be  out  of  the  way  when 
the  spring  rush  comes  on.  To  the  man  who  has  done  his  orchard 
work  in  an  office,  this  may  not  seem  to  be  a  strong  argument,  but 
any  one  who  really  gets  out  and  does  the  work,  or  who  even 
"bosses  the  job,"  wall  find  that  he  frequently  has  to  modify 
his  plans  and  theories  to  suit  the  case  in  hand.  In  particular  he 
will  find  that  the  problem  of  keeping  his  teams  constantly  at  work 
is  b}^  no  means  an  easy  one  to  solve.  Too  often  it  is  solved 
by  allowing  the  teams  to  stand  in  the  barn,  which  usually  means 
that  the  owner  has  not  realized  that  there  is  any  problem. 


DISC  HARROWING  85 

3.  Fall  plowing  disturbs  a  number  of  insects  that  pass  the 
winter  in  the  ground.  The  apple  maggot  or  railroad  worm  and 
the  spring  canker  worm,  in  particular,  pass  the  winter  in  the 
soil  in  the  pupa  stage,  and  relatively  few  of  them  will  survive 
if  the  land  is  fall  plowed.  In  any  case  where  a  bad  attack  of 
either  of  these  insects  is  likely  to  occur  it  would  seem  that  fall 
plowing  might  be  justified  for  this  reason  alone. 

4.  It  gets  the  old  and  diseased  leaves  under  the  ground  where 
they  will  not  be  a  source  of  infection  for  the  new  leaves  when 
they  come  out  in  the  spring.  In  apple  scab,  in  particular,  it  has 
been  shown  that  the  disease  passes  the  winter  on  the  old  leaves 
and  if  these  can  be  disposed  of  it  will  aid  materially  in  the  fight 
for  clean  fruit.  Where  the  plowing  is  delayed  until  spring  most 
of  the  leaves  will  be  blown  off  the  land  into  the  adjoining  grass 
or  hedge-rows  where  they  will  produce  an  abundance  of  spores. 
If  the  plowing  is  done  in  the  autumn  the  bulk  of  them  will  be 
still  in  the  orchard  and  will  be  turned  under,  thereby  securing 
just  so  much  extra  humus  as  well  as  getting  rid  of  a  prolific 
source  of  infection. 

The  two  principal  arguments  used  against  fall  plowing  are 
that  the  soil  is  more  likely  to  wash  and  that  there  is  more  danger 
of  injury  to  the  roots  of  the  trees  by  freezing.  The  first  of 
these  is  undoubtedly  correct  and  is  a  sufficient  reason  for  not 
practising  fall  plowing  in  a  great  many  cases  on  hillsides. 
Still  on  many  farms  there  are  one  or  more  blocks  which  do  not 
have  slope  enough  to  be  damaged  in  this  way  and  on  most 
farms  "  eveiy  little  helps,"  especially  in  the  spring. 

On  the  freezing  argument  there  is  need  of  more  light.  It 
would  be  relatively  easy,  with  soil  thermometers,  to  determine 
whether  the  ground  will  freeze  more  deeply  in  a  plowed  orchard 
than  in  one  under  sod  or  a  cover  crop.  If  the  land  were  har- 
rowed down  at  all  it  is  very  doubtful  if  the  plowed  land  would 
allow  the  frost  to  enter  any  more  deeply. 

Disc  Harrowing. — Of  course  it  is  not  always  necessary  that 
the  land  should  be  plowed.  On  lightish  lands  in  particular  it  is 
often  possible  to  fit  them  in  the  spring  with  some  type  of  disc 
harrow.  One  of  these  disc  harrows,  if  set  so  as  to  reach  its 
greatest  depth,  will  stir  the  soil  enough.    Where  soils  can  be  so 


86  ORCHARD  CULTURE 

handled  it  is  usually  a  more  expeditious  method.  I£  the  disc 
harrow  is  run  through  the  orchard  in  one  direction  and  then  the 
land  is  allowed  to  stand  a  few  days,  to  be  followed  by  a  discing 
in  the  other  direction,  twice  over  the  land  will  usually  put  it 
in  good  condition  for  the  spring-tooth  or  some  other  harrow. 

Early  Tillage  Affects  Moisture. — The  desirability  of  fitting 
the  land  as  early  in  the  spring  as  possible  is  very  frequently 
overlooked  by  the  orchard  man,  who  has  on  the  land  a  crop  of 
clover  or  some  other  crop  which  lives  through  the  winter.  He 
thinks  that  he  ought  to  let  it  grow  for  a  time  in  order  to  get 
additional  humus  to  plow  under,  and  the  temptation  to  get  all 
he  can  in  the  humus  line  frequently  gets  him  into  serious  diffi- 
culties. Of  course  it  is  expected  that  when  the  land  is  plowed 
in  the  spring  a  certain  number  of  roots  will  be  destroyed  by 
the  plows,  but  if  the  land  is  plowed  each  year  the  roots  so  cut 
will  never  have  attained  any  great  size  and  they  will  be  replaced 
at  once  by  new  feeding  roots  which  will  come  up  into  the  soil 
which  was  turned  over.  Moreover  when  this  is  done  in  the  early 
spring  the  tree  will  not  feel  the  temporary  loss  of  moisture,  be- 
cause at  this  time  of  year  the  loss  of  moisture  by  transpiration 
from  the  tree  is  relatively  very  small. 

It  ought  also  to  be  emphasized,  in  this  connection,  that  the 
little  root  hairs  which  do  most  of  the  actual  absorbing  of  soil 
moisture  do  not  persist  over  winter  but  a  new  set  is  developed 
each  spring.  Now  suppose  that  the  orchard  man,  in  his  zeal  to 
get  extra  humus,  allows  his  cover  crop  to  grow  until  June 
before  plowing.  In  the  first  place  this  will  seriously  exhaust  the 
soil  moisture  by  the  extra  drafts  made  upon  it  to  grow  the  cover 
crop;  then  an  inunense  number  of  feeding  roots  and  root  hairs 
will  have  been  developed  in  this  surface  layer  of  the  soil  which 
is  turned  over  by  plow.  The  loss  of  these  roots,  or  rather  of  the 
soil  moisture  which  they  are  taking  in,  while  it  would  not  have 
been  felt  by  the  tree  in  the  least  had  it  occurred  in  the  early 
spring,  is  now  very  seriously  felt,  since  the  tree  is  in  full  leaf 
and  giving  off  to  the  air  an  immense  amount  of  moisture  daily. 
If  we  add  to  this  the  further  fact  that  this  heavy  layer  of  cover 
crop,  both  the  autumn  growth  and  the  spring  growth,  interferes 


THE  TIME  TO  STOP  CULTIVATION  87 

with  the  transference  of  water  from  the  subsoil  into  the  furrow 
slice  which  was  turned  over,  and  that  therefore  a  considerable 
time  must  elapse  before  new  feeding  roots  can  be  established 
in  this  surface  layer,  we  may  see  at  least  some  of  the  objections 
to  deferring  plowing  until  summer  in  order  to  grow  a  cover  crop. 

After-tillage. — Following  this  first  ' '  fitting  ' '  of  the  land 
there  is  a  period  of  cultivating.  This  period  varies  in  length 
with  different  men,  all  the  way  from  not  over  a  month  to  three  or 
even  four  months.  The  principal  objects  of  this  cultivation  are 
to  keep  down  the  weeds  and  to  conserve  the  soil  moisture,  and 
individual  conditions  are  going  to  very  decidedly  modify  not  only 
its  length  but  its  thoroughness  and  the  implements  necessary  to 
do  it.  As  a  rule  the  land  ought  to  be  gone  over  every  ten  days 
or  two  weeks,  but  if  one  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  a  bad  case 
of  witch  grass  to  contend  with,  or  if  the  season  is  especially  dry, 
or  the  land,  either  from  lack  of  humus  or  from  any  other 
cause,  is  not  in  condition  to  hold  moisture,  then  it  may  be  de- 
sirable to  cultivate  oftener.  In  particular  it  is  well  to  get  over 
all  the  orchard  just  as  soon  as  possible  after  a  rain,  unless  of 
course  it  is  a  rainy  spell.  Even  then  it  is  important  to  start  the 
cultivator  just  as  soon  as  the  rainy  spell  is  over.  For  most  of  this 
cultivation  very  shallow  stirring  of  the  soil  is  all  that  is  neces- 
sary. It  is  often  the  practice  after  the  land  is  once  gotten  into 
shape  in  the  spring  to  use  some  harrow  of  the  spring-tooth  type 
for  most  of  the  work.  The  one  shown  in  Figure  42  is  admirably 
suited  to  this  part  of  the  work  and  will  cover  more  land  in  a  day 
than  anything  that  was  ever  turned  loose  in  an  orchard.  The 
acme  harrow  is  also  excellent. 

The  time  to  stop  cultivation,  as  has  been  suggested,  varies 
greatly  with  different  men,  A  rather  short,  sharp  campaign  is 
usually  best.  Get  the  orchard  under  cultivation  as  early  as 
possible,  make  the  cultivation  thorough,  and  then  stop  it  early 
and  sow  in  the  cover  crop.  It  is  rare  that  it  needs  to  be  con- 
tinued after  the  first  of  July.  Several  of  the  disadvantages  of 
cultivation  may  be  largely  overcome  by  seeding  down  early.  On 
land  which  does  not  hold  moisture  well  and  with  a  heavy  crop  of 
fruit  on  the  trees  and  a  dry  season,  late  culture  may  be  desirable 


88  ORCHARD  CULTURE 

and  even  necessary.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  longer  the 
sowing  of  the  cover  crop  is  delayed  the  less  growth  there  will 
be  of  that  crop,  and  consequently  the  less  humus  there  will  be  to 
plow  under  the  following  year,  which  in  turn  will  make  the  land 
suffer  more  from  drouth.  In  other  words,  by  prolonging  cultiva- 
tion we  save  moisture  for  that  year  at  the  expense  of  future 
years. 

Hand  Work. — While  thorough  cultivation  in  the  orchard  as 
a  whole  is  desirable,  it  is  doubtful  how  important  it  is,  in  older 
orchards  at  least,  that  the  soil  close  about  the  trees  should  be 
stirred.  And  certainly  it  adds  very  greatly  to  the  expense  if  one 
tries  to  remove  all  the  weeds  and  grass  from  close  around  every 
tree.  It  means  hand  labor  and  a  good  deal  of  it,  and  as  soon 
as  we  resort  to  hand  work  we  raise  very  decidedly  the  cost  of 
caring  for  the  orchard.  If,  for  any  reason,  it  is  thought  to  be 
absolutely  necessary  to  do  this  work,  however,  then  as  much  as 
possible  should  be  done  with  the  grape-hoe  shown  in  Figure  43. 
It  is  surprising  how  much  this  implement  will  do.  The  balance 
may  be  cleared  out  by  using  a  heavy  hoe  or  a  light  mattock  or 
grub  hoe. 

Damage  During  Cultivation. — One  of  the  annoying  things 
about  cultivating  an  orchard  is  the  amount  of  injury  that  is 
pretty  certain  to  be  done  to  the  trees  by  the  harness  and  the 
whiffletrees  and  the  cultivators.  Even  with  the  best  of  men  and 
teams  a  certain  amount  of  this  damage  is  sure  to  occur.  With 
poorer  men  and  less  steady  teams  there  is  enough  of  it  to 
drive  the  most  ardent  believer  in  cultivation  to  sod  culture. 
Patches  of  bark  will  be  scraped  off  the  trunk  by  the  cultivator, 
the  tips  of  branches  chewed  off  by  the  horses,  or  the  bark  raked 
off  the  branches  by  the  hames  of  the  harness.  While  one  is  always 
more  or  less  at  the  mercy  of  the  teamster,  a  good  many  things 
may  be  done  to  help  him  to  avoid  injuring  the  trees.  The  horses 
may  be  muzzled,  and  harnesses  with  low  hames  ought  always  to 
be  used.  We  may  even  resort  with  great  satisfaction  to  the 
tugless  harness  shown  in  Figure  40.  Then  short  whiffletrees  and 
doubletrees  ought  always  to  be  used.  It  will  avoid  many  a  scar 
if  the  outside  ends  of  the  whiffletrees  are  padded  with  burlap 


DAMAGE  DURING  CULTIVATION 


90  OUCHAKD  CULTURE 

or  an  old  sack.  If  extension  types  of  implements  are  used,  the 
team,  at  least,  will  be  kept  well  away  from  the  trees.  These 
extension  implements  may  be  either  those  like  the  light  draft 
harrow  shown  in  Figure  42,  which  cover  a  wide  space  and  con- 
sequently avoid  the  necessity  of  the  team  getting  near  the  trees ; 
or,  if  these  are  not  available,  the  two  sections  of  an  ordinary 
disc  or  spring-tooth  harrow  may  be  separated  by  using  a  long 
bar  or  evener.  In  the  latter  case  there  is,  of  course,  a  strip  of 
land  in  the  centre  each  time  which  is  not  worked,  but  if  the 
space  between  the  sections  is  not  wider  than  one  of  them  the 
strip  is  cultivated  on  the  return  trip. 

Sowing  the  Cover  Crop. — When  the  time  finally  arrives  for 
sowing  the  cover  crop  it  may  be  sown  just  previous  to  the  last 
cultivation  which  will  cover  the  seed,  except  in  the  ease  of  clover 
and  turnips  which  are  sown  just  after  the  last  cultivation  and 
either  left  for  the  next  rain  to  cover  or  else  lightly  brushed  in 
with  a  brush  harrow. 

It  is  always  a  satisfaction  to  see  block  after  block  of  the 
orchard  seeded  down  to  the  cover  crop.  One  feels  that  another 
good  job  is  finished  and  trouble  (at  least  that  particular  trouble) 
is  over  for  the  season. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Outline  briefly  three  plans  of  orchard  management  as  regards  culture. 

2.  What  are  the  principal  points  in  favor  of  sod  culture? 

3.  Give  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  cultivation  of  orchards. 

4.  Outline  a  year's  treatment  of  the  soil  in  a  cultivated  orchard. 

5.  Give  several  reasons  for  and  against  plowing  orchards  in  late  fall. 

6.  Discuss  the  use  of  the  disc  harrovs'  in  orchards. 

7.  Describe  the  eflects  of  early  spring  tillage. 

8.  At  what  time  during  the  growing  season  should  the  cultivation  cease? 

Why? 

9.  What  hand  work,   if  any,  is  to  be  recommended  in  the  cultivation  of 

orchards  ? 

10.  How  is  the  cover  crop  started? 

11.  Is  sod-mulch,  clean  culture  or  a  modified  method  used  in  your  section? 


CHAPTER  VII 

ORCHARD  IMPLEMENTS 

It  is  a  great  convonience  in  cultivating  an  orchard  if  a  man 
can  have  jnst  the  right  implement  for  each  particular  part  in  the 
work  and  for  every  special  combination  of  conditions.  That  is 
one  advantage  which  the  large  orchard  has  over  the  small  one. 
With  only  a  few  acres  of  orchard  to  care  for  the  owner  feels  as 
;  hough  he  ought  to  get  along  with  the  smallest  equipment  possi- 
ble unless  he  has  use  for  the  implements  in  his  other  farm  work. 
It  is  possible  to  care  for  an  orchard  with  only  a  plow  and  a 
harrow,  in  fact  he  might  even  cut  out  the  plow  if  his  harrow  were 
of  the  disc  varietj^  But  with  a  large  orchard,  the  owner  feels 
more  free  to  add  to  his  equipment,  and  if  the  orchard  is  suffi- 
ciently large  he  can  justify  quite  an  extensive  array  of  imple- 
ments. This  is  a  doctrine  which,  like  the  doctrine  of  a  fairly 
large  list  of  varieties,  it  is  easy  to  carry  too  far,  and  any  man 
should  keep  the  list  down  low  enough  so  that  he  at  least  has  room 
for  everj^  implement  in  the  tool  shed. 

But  since  there  are  a  great  many  orchard  implements  on  the 
market  and  since  slightly  varying  conditions  may  make  a  differ- 
ent one  more  effective  than  any  other,  it  seems  worth  while  to 
discuss  a  few  of  the  principal  types. 

Plows. — As  already  suggested  it  is  not  always  necessary  to 
plow  the  orchard,  but  it  frequently  is,  and  when  one  has  to  plow 
he  wants  a  good  implement.  There  are  about  four  things  to  be 
considered  in  selecting  an  orchard  plow :  First,  the  draft ;  second, 
how  close  it  can  be  run  to  the  trees ;  third,  how  much  danger  there 
is  that  it  will  damage  the  trees;  and,  fourth,  its  effect  on  the 
furrow  slice,  that  is,  how  thoroughly  it  wall  pulverize  the  land  as 
it  turns  it  over.  Any  orchard  plow^  should  have  a  fairly  abrupt 
mold  board  in  order  to  pulverize  as  well  as  to  invert  the  furrow 
slice.  The  type  of  plow^  which  merely  inverts  the  furrow  slice 
without  breaking  it  up  at  all  will  make  a  pretty  looking  field, 

91 


92  ORCHARD  IMPLEMENTS 

that  may  win  in  a  plowing  match  where  beauty  is  the  main 
thing,  but  it  certainly  does  not  leave  the  soil  in  anything  like 
as  good  condition  as  the  mold  board  with  an  abrupt  turn.  The 
latter  is  as  good  as  the  former  plus  one  or  two  harrowings. 

Types  of  Plows. — There  are  four  or  five  types  of  plows 
usually  available  to  select  from,  any  one  of  which  is  fairly  satis- 
factory. First,  there  is  the  ordinary  walking  plow.  This  will 
do  good  work,  and  if  the  orchard  is  small  it  may  be  the  best  plow 
to  choose.  The  chief  disadvantages  of  this  plow  are  that  it  is 
necessary  to  make  a  back-furrow  and  a  dead  furrow  to  each 
row  of  trees  and  that  it  is  not  possible  to  get  quite  as  close  to  the 
trees  as  with  some  other  plows,  but  neither  one  of  these  is  a 
serious  objection. 

The  former  difficulty  may  be  obviated  by  selecting  a  hillside 
walking  plow.  This  is  reversible,  so  that  all  the  furrows  are 
thrown  in  one  direction.  The  plowman  simply  begins  at  one 
side  of  the  orchard  find  goes  back  and  forth,  making  neither 
dead  nor  back-furrows,  until  the  entire  orchard  is  plowed.  The 
usual  custom  in  using  such  a  plow  is  to  throw  the  land  down 
the  hill,  but  it  is  much  better,  unless  the  slope  is  very  steep,  to 
throw  it  up  the  hill.  Hillside  land  which  is  cultivated  will  work 
down  the  hill  fast  enough  without  any  deliberate  assistance  from 
the  owner. 

The  principal  objection  to  this  plow  is  that  it  does  not  do  as 
good  work  as  the  ordinary  type  of  walking  plow  just  mentioned. 
This  is  not  a  verj^  serious  difference,  but  it  may  be  avoided  by 
using  the  third  type  of  plow,  the  double-sulky  plow.  This  is  a 
wheeled  implement  with  two  plows  side  by  side,  one  a  right- 
hand  and  the  other  a  left-hand  plow.  It  works  exactly  the  same 
as  the  hillside  plow  but  does  a  little  better  work  on  the  soil. 
One  can  not,  however,  get  quite  so  close  to  the  trees  with  it. 
For  preparing  a  field  to  set  an  orchard  on  it  is  the  finest  thing 
yet  invented. 

Orchard  Gang  Plow. — We  have  next  the  small  orchard  gang 
plow  shown  in  Figure  38.  This  consists  of  three  eight-inch  plows 
and  will  therefore  move  twenty-four  inches  in  width  at  one  time, 
which  means  getting  over  the  orchard  in  a  hurry.    It  is  built  so 


ORCHARD  DISC  PLOW  93 

as  to  get  very  close  to  the  trees  whether  one  is  plowing  towards 
them  or  away  from  them,  and  the  draft  is  surprisingly  small 
considering  the  surface  covered.  The  writer  has  never  seen  an 
accurate  draft  test  of  this  plow,  but,  in  trying  it  out  in  orchard 
practice  as  compared  with  the  two  types  of  walking  plows  just 
mentioned,  it  did  not  seem  that  the  team  pulled  any  harder 
with  this  gang  throwing  twenty-four  inches  than  with  a  fourteen- 
meh  plow  of  the  other  sorts.     Of  course  these  small  plows  will 


!    '  iif  three  eight-inch  plows.     One  of  the  best  iniplomonf 
The  draft  is  light  and  it  covers  a  lot  of  land  in  a  day. 

not  throw  a  very  deep  furrow,  but  this  is  seldom  wanted  in  an 
orchard.  Three  or  four  inches  is  usually  ample.  At  the  present 
writing,  with  only  one  season's  experience  to  base  the  opinion 
on,  this  little  plow  seems  to  stand  at  the  head  for  straight 
orchard  work. 

Orchard  Disc  Plow. — Lastly  we  have  what  is  known  as  the 
California  orchard  plow,  shown  in  Figure  39,  As  will  be  seen  it 
consists  of  four  large  discs  at  one  end  of  a  long  beam.  The 
great  advantage  of  this  implement  is  that  it  does  very  thorough 
work  and  one  can  get  very  close  to  the  trees  with  it  and  still 


94 


ORCHARD  IMPLEMENTS 


have  the  team  far  enough  away  to  avoid  all  danger  of  injurj'^ 
from  that  source.  For  working  out  the  weeds  and  grass  close 
about  the  trees  it  is  certainly  admirable. 

Harrows. — Starting  with  the  most  deeply  cutting  types  of 
harrows  we  have  the  disc  and  the  cutaway.  These  are  much 
alike,  the  only  difference  being  that  the  former  has  a  smooth 
edge  to  the  discs  while  in  the  latter  the  edges  are  notched.     It 


1<'IG.  "0. — A  disn  plow  for  orchard   work.    An  PTfollonf.  implpmont  for  wirldnc  i|  i^c   to  I  h? 
nous  without  getting  tlie  team  near  euougU  to  do  anj-  damage. 

is  claimed  that  these  latter  will  cut  into  the  soil  more  deeply, 
which  is  probably  true.  Either  one  is  excellent  for  working  in 
the  orchard,  and  as  already  suggested  may  frequently  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  plow  in  getting  the  land  in  shape  in  the  spring. 
Even  in  the  later  cultivation  it  is  well  to  have  one  of  these 
harrows  available  for  use  in  case  the  weeds  get  a  bad  start  in 
any  corner  of  the  orchard. 

Next  to  the  disc  type  of  harrow  comes  the  spring-tooth,  and 
it  ought  to  follow  the  disc  in  the  season's  work.  It  will  pull  the 
furrows  to  pieces  and  pulverize  the  soil  well,  following  either 


CULTIVATORS  95 

the  plow  or  the  disc,  and  some  type  of  sprino^-tooth  harrow  ought 
to  be  in  any  collection  of  orchard  implements  that  is  supposed  to 
be  at  all  complete.  There  is  one  objection  to  the  ordinary-  spring- 
tooth  harrow  for  young  orchards  and  that  is  that  it  is  so  likely 
to  catch  on  a  stone  or  some  other  obstacle  and  jump  against  the 
trees.  Careful  driving  will  help  to  prevent  this  difficulty,  and 
of  course  it  does  not  apply  in  land  free  from  stones  and  other 
obstacles.  Another  objection  which  has  been  made  to  the  spring- 
tooth  and  which  may  be  worth  mentioning  here,  is  that  where 
an  orchard  has  patches  of  witch  (quack)  grass  in  it  this  harrow 
will  drag  small  pieces  to  other  parts  of  the  orchard  and  drop 
them,  thus  helping  to  spread  this  noxious  weed.  This  is  prob- 
ably a  legitimate  objection  but  can  not  offset  the  many  advantages 
of  this  type  of  tooth  either  on  harrows  or  cultivators. 

We  have  next  the  acme  harroiv  shown  in  Figure  40.  The 
action  of  this  machine  is  to  cut  into  the  soil  behind  and  to  crush 
the  clods  in  front.  Where  the  soil  conditions  are  right  it  will  do 
as  much  work  as  anything  in  an  orchard.  But  it  will  not  work 
en  land  which  is  either  very  stony  or  which  has  much  trash  on  it. 
Barring  these  limitations  it  is  an  excellent  implement  and  will 
leave  the  soil  in  as  good  condition  as  anything  on  the  list. 

Lastly  among  harrows  we  have  the  spike-tooth  or  smoothing 
type.  This  is  not  considered  a  very  important  implement  in  the 
orchard.  It  is  especially  designed  to  leave  the  surface  fine  and 
smooth  and  occasionally  such  a  tool  may  be  needed,  particularly 
for  covering  some  kinds  of  cover  crops,  but  this  would  be  the 
first  thing  to  strike  out  if  one  were  trying  to  cut  down  the  list 
of  implements. 

Cultivators, — It  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between  cultiva- 
tors and  harrows  because  many  implements  are  used  for  both 
purposes.  In  the  classification  here  given  the  cultivators  are 
used  primarily  for  cultivating  and  are  more  under  the  control 
of  the  operator  than  the  harrows. 

We  have  first  the  implement  shown  in  Figure  41,  and  known 
technically  on  the  market  as  the  orchard  cultivator.  The  teeth 
are  entirely  rigid  and  it  is  designed  especially  for  use  in 
getting  the  land  in  shape  and  levelling  it,  after  it  has  been 


96 


ORCHARD  IMPLEMENTS 


plowed  or  disced.     The  chief  objection  to  it  is  that  the  frame  is 
very  rigid,  so  that  it  does  uot  alwaj's  adapt  itself  to  ii-re^larities 


Fig.  40. — The  acme  harrow.     An  excellent  orchard  cultivator  when  soil  conditions  are 

good,  but  atoaes  and  trash  interfere  with  it  seriously. 

Fig.  41. — An  orchard  cultivator  with  heavy,  rigid  teeth.    An  excellent  implement  for  heavy 

work,  either  where  the  land  is  rough  or  the  weeds  are  large. 

in  the  surface,  one  end  perhaps  working  too  deeply  and  the  other 
not  deep  enough.  On  the  other  hand  this  very  rigidity  malves  it 
effective  in  pulling  the  land  into  shape,  taking  down  the  high 


CULTIVATORS 


97 


98  ORCHARD  IMPLEMENTS 

places  and  scraping  them  into  the  low  ones.  And  it  will  dig  into 
a  patch  of  witch  grass  or  other  troublesome  weed  in  a  way  to  dis- 
courage the  intruder. 

Next  is  the  light-draft  orchard  harrow  shown  in  Figure  42. 
It  is  certainly  well  named,  as  the  draft  is  very  light  considering 
the  land  it  covers  and  there  are  few  if  any  implements  that  will 
get  over  as  many  acres  of  orchard  in  a  day  as  this  one.  It  will 
cheer  the  heart  of  any  man  with  a  lot  of  work  to  do.  You  can  send 
a  man  out  into  a  ten  acre  block  of  orchard  in  the  morning  and  he 
is  back  at  noon  with  the  job  done.    And  it  does  good  work,  too. 


ini:  orchard.     An  excellent  implement  for  clearing 
lu.     It  will  do  the  work  of  a  dozen  men. 


Its  shortcoming  is  that  the  land  has  to  be  in  pretty  good  condition 
for  it  to  do  good  work.  The  teeth  are  rather  light  and  will  not 
work  well  on  rough  land,  but  once  the  land  has  been  put  in  good 
condition  in  the  spring  it  will  certainly  take  care  of  it  well  and 
cheaply.  There  are  two  wings  which  enable  it  to  work  close 
to  the  trees  without  bringing  the  horses  near  them.  A  light 
lever  attached  to  each  of  the  four  sections  enables  the  operator 
to  dump  any  trash  that  may  have  caught  on  the  teeth. 


QUESTIONS  99 

A  combination  implement  kno^^^l  as  a  grape-hoe  is  shown  in 
Figure  43.  It  can  be  used  either  in  the  capacity  of  a  plow  or  a 
cultivator,  by  changing  the  attachment,  and  is  designed  to  save 
hand  labor  by  working  close  to  the  trees.  With  the  right  man  to 
run  it,  it  will  certainly  do  what  it  was  designed  to  do.  There 
is  a  disc  for  steering  it,  and  a  good  husky  man  who  has  had  a 
little  practice  in  running  it  will  come  as  near  cleaning  out  all  the 
weeds  from  about  the  trees  as  it  is  possible  to  do  with  anything 
short  of  a  hand  hoe.  No  orchard  of  any  size  can  afford  to  be 
without  one. 

Then  there  is  the  common  V-sliaped  cultivator.  This  is  not 
strictly  necessary  to  care  for  the  orchard,  but  as  soon  as  any  of 
the  companion  crops  are  planted  it  becomes  the  main  dependence. 
It  is  usually  best  to  have  two  of  them  with  teeth  of  different  sizes. 
The  large  are  needed  for  heavy  work  when  one  is  unfortunate 
enough  to  get  behindhand,  and  the  small  for  land  in  better  shape. 
In  fact  some  orchardists  have  three  of  them  in  the  equipment, 
ranging  from  the  small,  spike-toothed  variety  up  to  one  with 
five  good-sized  shovels. 

Tractors.  The  tractor,  with  suitable  plows  and  harrows,  has 
become  a  very  important  implement  in  orchard  work.  On  land 
which  is  suited  to  its  use  it  is  largely  taking  the  place  of  horse 
labor  owing  to  the  greater  rapidity  and  reduced  cost  with  which 
it  can  be  operated.     (See  Fig.  81). 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  advantages  have  large  orchards  over  small  ones   in   the  matter 

of  implements? 

2.  Why  should  the  plow  have  an  abrupt  mold-board? 

3.  What   may   be   said   for   and   against   the   ordinary   walking    plow    for 

orchard  work? 

4.  What  advantage  has  the  hillside  plow? 

5.  Describe  a  double-sulky  plow  and  tell  when  you  would  prefer  it. 

6.  Give  the  advantages  of  the  orchard  gang  plow. 

7.  What  is  a  "  California  orchard  plow  "?   Give  several  points  in  its  favor. 

8.  Compare  the  various  types  of  harrows  for  use  in  orchards. 

9.  What  types  of  cultivators  are  suitable  for  use  in  orchards? 
10.  What  orchard  implements  are  most  common  in  your  section? 


CHAPTER  VIII 
FERTILIZERS 

The  proper  fertilizing  of  a  fruit  plantation  is  an  especially 
difficult  point  to  determine  experimentally,  because  it  is  so 
difficult  to  determine  and  to  control  the  conditions  surrounding 
the  roots  of  trees.  When  it  has  been  determined  by  experiment 
what  the  best  treatment  for  a  particular  orchard  is,  this  informa- 
tion is  of  relatively  little  value  to  the  owners  of  other  orchards 
because  the  many  different  factors  of  ' '  soil  condition  ' '  are  likely 
to  vary  widely.  In  this  respect  the  fertilizer  problem  stands 
ahead  of  any  other.  For  example,  if  it  is  a  question  of  what  to 
spray  with,  the  conditions  surrounding  the  leaves  of  the  trees 
are  so  similar  that  what  is  best  for  Brown's  trees  will  probably 
also  be  best  for  Smith's  trees,  though  he  may  live  five  or  ten 
or  even  one  hundred  miles  away.  But  the  fertilizer  question  is 
so  complex,  and  conditions  change  so  decidedly  in  going  even 
a  short  distance,  that  what  is  good  in  the  way  of  fertilizers  for 
Brown's  trees  may  not  be  good  for  Smith's  though  his  orchard 
may  be  just  across  the  road. 

Doubtless  further  experiment  will  throw  more  light  on  the 
subject,  and  we  may  hope  that  the  time  will  come  when  we  shall 
have  a  generally  accepted  scheme  of  orchard  fertilization.  In 
the  meantime  we  must  use  what  evidence  we  have  and  do  our 
best  to  gain  further  light  for  ourselves  by  a  little  personal 
experimenting. 

The  best  orchardists  believe  in  fertilizing  and  practise  it  in 
private  orchards.  But  the  evidence  on  the  subject  is  meagre" 
and  conflicting.  Three  lines  of  reasoning  should  lead  to  the 
adoption  of  this  attitude  until  such  time  as  more  authoritative 
evidence  on  the  subject  is  available. 

Trees  Exhaust  Soil. — It  has  been  very  definitely  shown  that 

apple  orchards  take  out  of  the  soil  far  more  fertilizer  material 

year  by  year  than  ordinaiy  farm  crops  do.     Professor  I.  P. 

Roberts  has  calculated  that  the  twenty-year  record  of  fertilizer 

100 


EXPERIMENTAL  PROOF  101 

value  of  an  acre  of  wheat  and  an  acre  of  apples  would  be  as 

follows : 

Wheat,  grain  and  straw,  20  years $128.23 

Apples,  fruit  and  leaves,  20  years 207.45 

This  makes  no  account  of  the  large  amount  of  fertilizer 
material  which  is  each  year  locked  up  in  the  roots,  trunk,  and 
branches  of  the  tree.  Now  we  must  admit  at  once  that  the  tree 
forages  much  more  widely  than  the  annual  crop  in  search  of 
food,  but  even  when  this  is  considered  it  seems  reasonably  cer- 
tain that  an  orchard  exhausts  the  soil  faster  than  the  wheat 
crop.  It  must  be  remembered  further  that  there  is  no  chance 
for  rotation  of  crops  with  tlie  orchard,  but  the  same  elements  in 
the  same  ratio  are  taken  out  year  after  year.  When  we  remem- 
ber still  further  that  no  man  who  makes  any  pretense  to  being  a 
farmer  would  think  of  trying  to  grow  a  wheat  crop  many  years 
without  fertilizers,  it  seems  very  reasonable  that  the  orchard 
man  should  follow  the  practice  of  the  general  farmer. 

Best  Orchardists  Fertilize.— This  brings  us  to  the  second 
reason  for  thinking  that  orchards  ought  to  be  fertilized,  and  that 
is  that  the  best  fruit  men  practise  fertilizing.  Go  into  any 
orchard  section  and  you  will  find  that  the  most  progressive  and 
successful  growers,  as  a  rule,  are  the  men  who  fertilize  highly. 
Usually  the  man  succeeds  in  proportion  as  he  fertilizes.  The 
man  who  fertilizes  year  after  year,  whether  he  has  a  crop  of  fruit 
on  his  trees  or  not,  is  the  man  who  usually  has  a  crop.  The  man 
who  is  noted  in  a  section  as  applying  fertilizers  in  large  quantity 
is  usually  also  noted  as  a  man  who  harvests  bumper  crops.  This 
is  not  conclusive  proof,  because  these  men  also  care  well  for  their 
orchards  in  other  ways.  But  it  is  very  suggestive,  particularly 
the  fact  that  the  generous  feeder  usually  succeeds  better  than 
the  moderate  feeder. 

Experimental  Proof. — The  third  point  which  has  concerted 
many  to  fertilizing  their  orchards  is  the  fact  that  numerous 
experiments  have  shown  such  marked  benefits  from  fertilizing. 
Of  course  there  have  been  experiments  that  have  not  shown  any 
benefit,  but  when,  in  a  series  of  experiments,  a  fertilized  block 
gives  several  times  as  much  fruit  as  an  unfertilized  block,  the 


102  FERTILIZERS 

two  having  been  treated  in  exactly  the  same  way  except  in  the 
matter  of  fertilizers,  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  drawing  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  fertilizer  is  responsible  for  the  difference.  In  the 
orchard  fertilizer  experiments  at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  (with  which  experiments  the  writer  has  had 
no  connection)  the  thing  which  most  impresses  any  one  who 
studies  the  results  and  examines  the  trees,  is  the  extremely  poor 
showing  made  by  the  trees  which  had  no  fertilizer.  We  may 
disagree  decidedly  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  muriate  and  sul- 
fate of  potash,  or  as  to  whether  bone  meal  is  best  as  a  source  of 
phosphoric  acid,  but  none  can  escape  the  conclusion  that  under 
the  conditions  of  this  experiment  any  fertilizer  combination  used 
was  greatly  to  he  preferred  to  no  fertilizer  at  all. 

Influence  of  Nitrogen. — With  so  much  difference  in  opinion 
as  to  what  forms  of  fertilizer,  if  any,  are  required,  it  is  hardly 
to  be  expected  that  there  should  be  very  general  agreement  as  to 
the  particular  effect  of  the  different  fertilizer  elements,  yet  all 
are  agreed  that  nitrogen,  in  any  form,  is  likely  to  produce  rapid 
wood  growth  with  large,  dark  green  leaves  and  long  terminal 
shoots.  If  the  application  of  nitrogen  is  carried  to  excess,  the 
wood  growth  may  be  made  at  the  expense  of  fruit,  though  up  to 
a  certain  point  nitrogen  increases  the  yield.  It  almost  always 
decreases  color,  principally  because  the  fruit,  like  the  leaves,  is 
large  in  size  and  does  not  reach  sufficient  maturity  to  begin  to 
color  until  late  in  the  season.  The  heavy  foliage  also  reduces  the 
color  by  shutting  off  the  sunlight.  In  recent  experimental  work 
in  orchards,  however,  nitrogen  has  been  the  element  that  has  most 
frequently  shown  results  in  increased  yields. 

Influence  of  Potash. —  It  is  known  that  potash  enters  into 
the  fruit  acids  and  is  a  very  large  part  (more  than  50  per  cent.) 
of  the  ash  of  fruits.  Potash  has  also  been  credited,  and  perhaps 
rightly  so,  with  increasing  the  color  in  fruits,  but  this  effect  is 
probably  produced  by  the  influence  which  potash  has  on  the 
general  growth  of  the  tree  and  does  not  come  as  a  direct  influence  ; 
that  is,  potash  will  not  change  tlie  green  color  of  apples  to  a  red 
color  as  nitrogen  will  often  change  the  yellow  color  of  leaves  to  a 
green  color.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  well  known  that  potash  is 
important  in  getting  a  good  growth  of  leguminous  crops,  particu- 
larly clovers,  and  it  may  often  be  desirable  to  use  it  in  connection 
with  cover  crops,  applying  it  when  they  are  sown. 


FORMS  TO  USE  103 

Influence  of  Phosphoric  Acid. — The  exact  part  which  phos- 
l)horic  acid  plays  in  orchard  development  seems  not  to  have  been 
so  Avell  worked  out,  at  least  there  is  less  agreement  on  the  sub- 
ject. It  is  certainly  important  in  seed  development  and  prob- 
ably m  the  ripening  of  the  fruit,  and  some  men  have  even 
given  it  credit  for  improvements  in  the  color  of  fruit,  though  this 
is  not  very  generally  accepted.  If  it  occurs  it  is  probably  as  a 
result  of  the  control  which  this  element  exerts  on  the  growth  of 
the  tree.  Maturity  and  sunlight  are  certainly  the  two  most 
important  influences  in  producing  color  in  fruits.  "Where  phos- 
phoric acid  is  applied  to  orchards  it  is  probably  most  useful  to 
the  cover  crop  and  nia^'  generally  be  best  applied  wlien  that  crop 
is  sown. 

Forms  to  Use. — If  we  are  to  use  fertilizers  we  have  the  choice 
of  several  forms  of  each  one. 

For  nitrogen  we  have  nitrate  of  soda,  sulfate  of  ammonia, 
tankage,  cyanamid  and  nitrate  of  potash.  Nitrate  of  soda  is  prob- 
ably used  more  than  any  other  form  and  has  the  advantage  that  it 
is  very  quickly  available.    It  is  also  a  reasonably  cheap  form. 

Sulfate  of  ammonia  acts  more  slowly  than  the  nitrate  because 
it  has  to  be  changed  in  the  soil  into  the  nitrate  form  before  it  can 
be  used  by  the  plant.  It  also  has  a  tendency  to  make  the  soil 
sour  because  it  leaves  behind  the  sulfuric  acid.  Still,  it  is  fairly 
popular,  and  if  lime  is  used  to  take  care  of  the  acid,  it  is  good 
to  use  in  combination  where  a  long  season  of  growth  is  wanted. 

Tankage  is  still  more  slowly  available  and  is  usually  reason- 
able in  the  price  per  unit.  It  is  used  with  particular  satisfaction 
on  young  trees  or  in  any  situation  where  a  relatively  long  period 
of  groAvth  is  desired.  With  young  trees  tankage  in  combination 
with  nitrate  of  soda  has  given  veiy  much  better  results  than  the 
nitrate  alone,  even  when  two  applications  of  the  latter  were  given. 

The  nitrate  of  potash  is  hardly  worth  discussing  because  it  is 
so  seldom  that  one  can  get  it.  It  carries  about  the  same  percent- 
age of  nitrogen  as  the  nitrate  of  soda  and  in  addition  about 
as  much  potash  as  the  muriate.  It  is  thus  a  very  high  grade 
fertilizer,  the  highest  that  we  have.     It  has  the  disadvantage 


104  FERTILIZERS 

that  it  requires  the  application  of  lioth  nitrogen  and  potash  at  one 
time,  and  this  may  not  always  be  desirable. 

We  ought  to  add  to  the  forms  of  nitrogen  "  cyanamid, "  the 
newly  developed  combination  of  lime  with  atmospheric  nitrogen. 
It  has  not  yet  been  in  use  long  enough  for  its  (lualities  to  be 
tested,  but  it  has  this  to  recommend  it,  that  it  is  relatively  cheap. 

Among-  phosplioric  add  fertilizers  are  bone  meal,  rock  phos- 
phate, and  basic  slag.  Bone  meal  is  an  old  favorite  among  fer- 
tilizer users.  Within  recent  years  basic  slag,  or  Thomas  phosphate 
powder,  a  by-product  produced  in  the  manufacture  of  steel,  has 
been  used  a  great  deal  by  orchard  men.  It  has  the  advantage  of 
carrying  a  considerable  percentage  of  lime,  but  this  has  been 
reduced  recently  by  changes  in  the  manufacturing  process.  Acid 
phosphates  or  superphosphates  are  made  from  both  bone  and 
rock  phosphates  by  treating  them  w^th  sulfuric  acid.  This  takes 
up  a  part  of  the  lime,  rendering  the  phosphoric  acid  more  avail- 
able. The  superphosphates  are  especially  useful  with  young  trees 
where  the  roots  are  extending  rapidly.  They  are  the  only  form 
in  which  phosphoric  acid  should  be  applied  to  orchards  in  sod, 
since  in  such  orchards  one  must  depend  on  the  fertilizer  dis- 
solving and  being  washed  into  the  soil. 

Two  forms  of  potash  are  in  common  use,  the  muriate  and  the 
sulfate,  the  latter  coming  in  both  high  and  low  grade.  Probably 
the  muriate  is  more  generally  used  than  any  other  form  at  the 
present  time.  It  has  the  great  advantage  of  being  cheaper  than 
sulfate,  but  it  also  has  a  tendency  to  render  the  soil  acid  by 
taking  out  the  lime.  This  latter  tendency  can  be  overcome  of 
course  by  adding  lime,  but  that  means  o-ne  more  thing  to  look 
after.  The  low  grade  sulfate  carries  about  half  the  amount  "of 
actual  potash  that  the  high  grade  does,  but  it  also  has  a  large 
amount  of  magnesia,  which  many  consider  an  advantage.  There 
is  the  same  objection  to  it  that  there  is  to  any  low  grade  fer- 
tilizer, viz.,  that  it  costs  more  per  unit  of  plant  food  to  transport 
it  and  to  handle  it  in  the  orchard.  It  is  perhaps  best  to  use  the 
high  grade  sulfate  altogether  until  such  time  as  it  may  be  shown 
that  some  other  form  is  better. 


FERTILIZER  FORMULAS  105 

There  is  no  very  definite  experimental  data  to  show  that  lime 
is  beneficial  to  orchard  trees,  but  there  is  a  very  general  impres- 
sion among  orchard  men  that  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  apply  lime 
to  orchards.  So  far  as  this  idea  has  any  real  backing,  it  prob- 
ably rests  on  the  fact  that  limestone  districts  in  fruit  regions 
are  usually  noted  for  their  fine  fruit.  But  quite  aside  from  its 
effect  on  the  trees,  the  use  of  lime  in  orchards  is  probably  war- 
ranted on  account  of  its  effect  as  the  cover  crop  which  is  grown. 
Most  of  these  crops  are  benefited  by  lime,  and  for  some  of  them, 
notably  the  beginners,  on  some  soils  lime  is  absolutely  essential 
for  a  good  growth.  On  the  lighter  types  of  soils  the  ground 
limestone  is  to  be  preferred,  while  for  the  heavier  soils  the  burned 
lime  is  better.  On  many  soils  an  application  of  a  half  ton  to  a 
ton  per  acre  will  be  found  to  give  excellent  returns  in  improved 
growth  of  cover  crops.  On  one  orchard  block,  the  soil  of  which 
the  writer  has  tested,  it  was  shown  that  it  would  require  five 
tons  per  acre  to  neutralize  the  upper  foot  of  soil.  Of  course  this 
amount  was  not  put  on  in  any  one  season  but  a  yearly  application 
of  a  ton  was  used  with  markedly  beneficial  results. 

In  ordering  lime  of  either  type  it  will  be  found  best  to  pay 
the  extra  cost  of  having  it  come  in  bags  rather  than  in  bulk,  as  it 
is  impossible  to  handle  the  latter  type  with  any  degree  of  com- 
fort wlien  tliere  is  any  wind. 

Fertilizer  Formulas. — It  may  perhaps  be  helpful  to  include 
in  this  chapter  a  few  fertilizer  formulas,  though  it  ought  to  be 
understood  that  they  are  only  suggestive.  The  formulas  will 
vary,  as  to  amounts  and  frequently  as  to  materials  used,  with  the 
following  factors :  First,  the  soil  treatment  in  the  orchard.  If 
it  is  in  sod  it  will  need  more  fertilizers  than  if  the  soil  is  cultiva- 
ted. Second,  with  the  age  of  the  trees.  Young  trees  require 
less  fertilizer  to  secure  the  requisite  amount  of  growth  and  size 
of  fruit  than  do  old  trees.  Third,  the  crop  on  the  trees.  If 
the  trees  are  loaded  with  fruit  they  can  utilize  a  much  heavier 
application  of  fertilizer  than  if  there  is  little  or  no  fniit  on  them. 
Fourth,  with  the  type  of  soil.  A  light  sandy  soil  will  require 
more  fertilizer,  other  things  being  equal,  than  a  heavier  soil. 


106  FERTILIZERS 

Fifth,  with  the  variety.  Slow  growing  sorts  like  Wealthy  and 
Wagener  will  need  nineli  heavier  fertilizing  under  the  same  condi- 
tions, than  more  growthy  sorts  like  Mcintosh  and  Baldwin 
and  Spy. 

It  is  only  after  all  these  items  (and  very  possibly  others)  have 
been  considered  carefully  that  an  orchardist  is  in  position  to 
decide  what  fertilizers  he  wall  use.  But  if  he  will  keep  in  mind 
the  fact  that  he  ought  to  get  a  good  growth  of  cover  crop,  if  the 
orchard  is  cultivated,  or  a  good  groAvth  of  grass,  if  it  is  in  sod ; 
and  that  his  trees  ought  to  grow  from  15  to  20  inches  on  the 
leaders  in  young  bearing  orchards ;  and  from  4  to  6  inches  on 
mature  trees ;  if  he  will  keep  all  this  in  mind  as  a  guide  the  problem 
is  not  so  difficult  as  it  might  seem. 

Bearing  all  this  in  mind  we  may  suggest  tlie  following  formu- 
las, the  amounts  given  being  per  acre  in  all  cases : 

No.  1.  For  cultivated  orchards.  Apply  nitrate  of  soda  just 
as  the  buds  are  breaking  at  from  0  to  150  pounds,  with  perhaps 
an  equal  amount  when  the  cover  crop  is  sown ;  acid  phosphate  0 
to  300  pounds,  and  sulfate  of  potash  0  to  200  pounds  applied  when 
cover  crop  is  sown. 

No.  2.  For  sod  mulch  orchards.  Apply  nitrate  of  soda  100 
to  300  pounds;  acid  phosphate  150  to  300  pounds;  sulfate  of  pot- 
ash 0  to  100  pounds,  all  applied  in  the  early  spring  just  as  the 
buds  on  the  trees  are  breaking. 

No.  3.  For  orchards  in  sod,  with  the  grass  made  into  hay 
and  removed  (w^hich  we  have  already  suggested  ought  almost 
never  to  be  done  but  which  is  very  frequently  done),  the  amount 
given  in  No.  2  ought  to  be  proportionately  increased  until  one 
gets  the  right  amount  of  grow^th  on  his  trees. 

No.  4.  Where  strips  are  cultivated  in  the  orchard  and  the 
balance  is  in  sod  the  amounts  used  may  be  half  way  between 
formulas  No.  1  and  No.  2. 

Munson  and  Frost,  of  Littleton,  Massachusetts,  use  the  fol- 
lowing formula  on  their  bearing  apple  orchard:  500  pounds 
basic  slag,  and  225  pounds  high  grade  sulfate  of  potash. 

Mr.  A.  C.  Starr,  of  Starrs  Point,  Nova  Scotia,  w^rites;   "  We 


APPLICATION 


107 


use  all  the  barn  manure  we  have  to  spare,  and  we  iisuall}-  get  over 
them  once  in  about  four  years,  giving  a  fair  application.  In 
addition  we  apply  each  year  400  to  500  pounds  of  ground  bone 
per  acre  and  200  to  300  pounds  of  muriate  of  potash. ' ' 

Professor  J.  P.  Stewart,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Experiment 
Station,  who  has  given  a  great  deal  of  study  to  this  (luestion 
of  fertilizing  orchards,  gives  the  following  table  of  fertilizers 
to  be  used  while  detennining  by  experiment  what  tlie  orchard 
actually  needs : 

Tabi.k  III. — A   General  Fertilizer  for  Apple  Orchards. 

(Amounts  per  Acre  for  Bearing  Trees) 


Nitrogen  30  lbs.    (N) 

Phosphorie  Acid  50  lbs. 

(P2O0) 

Potash  25  to  50  lbs. 

(K-..0) 

Carried  in — 

Carried  in — 

Carried  in — 

100  ll)s.  nitrate  soda  and 

;}r)0  lbs.  acid  phosphate 

;")()   to    100   lbs.    muriate 

150  lbs.  dried  blood 

or  in 
200  lbs.  bone  meal 

or  in 

or  in 
150  lbs.   sulfate  of  am- 
monia 

or  in 
300  lbs.  basic  slag 

100     to     200     lbs.     low 
grade  sulfate 

Application, — In  appl.ying  fertilizers  it  is  much  better  to  use 
a  fertilizer  spreader  when  possible.  Of  course  where  the  trees 
are  young,  and  the  fertilizer  is  therefore  spread  over  only  a 
part  of  the  surface,  it  is  usually  necessary  to  put  it  on  by  hand. 

Insoluble  materials,  or  those  slowly  soluble,  like  bone  meal 
and  basic  slag,  should  be  applied  before  the  land  is  plowed  or 
should  be  otherwise  thoroughly  incorporated  with  the  soil.  Those 
which  dissolve  readily,  like  muriate  and  sulfate  of  potash  or 
nitrate  of  soda,  may  be  spread  upon  the  surface  and  will  wash 
in  with  the  first  rain. 

The  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  salts  are  not  readily  washed 
out  of  the  soil  and  may  therefore  be  applied  at  almost  any  season 
of  the  year,  though  the  orchardist  should  avoid  a  time  Avhen 
there  are  likely  to  be  dashing  rains  which  will  carry  them  off 
in  the  surface  water.    But  nitrogen  is  very  likely  to  escape  and 


108  FERTILIZERS 

should  be  applied  after  growth  has  started  so  that  it  may  be 
taken  up  quickly. 

The  fertilizing  of  the  various  kinds  of  fruit  trees  will  vary 
somewhat,  but  there  will  probably  not  be  any  greater  variation 
that  might  occur  between  two  different  varieties  of  the  same  kind 
of  fruit  or  between  two  blocks  of  the  same  fruit  on  different 
soils.  For  example,  the  Wag-ener  and  Gravenstein  apples  will 
probably  vary  nearly  as  much  in  the  fertilizer  requirements  as 
Avill  the  general  classes  of  apples  and  peaches.  And  two  blocks 
of  Baldwin  apple  trees  on  very  different  soils  may  need  quite 
as  different  fertilizers  as  a  block  of  peaches  and  a  block 
of  apples. 

There  is  much  recent  experimental  data  to  show  that  in  the 
application  of  nitrogen  it  is  desirable  to  get  the  fertilizer  on  the 
orchard  early  in  the  season.  In  general  the  data  when  the  buds 
are  beginning  to  swell  seems  to  be  about  the  right  period  for 
this  application. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Compare  oi-chards  with  wheat  in  their  exhaustion  of  soil  fertility. 

2.  What  have  experiments  proved  in  regard  to  orchard  fertilizers? 

3.  What  are  the  effects  of  nitrogenous  fertilizers? 

4.  Give  the  effects  of  fertilizers  rich  in  potash. 

5.  What  is  the  influence  of  phosphoric  acid  on  fruit  trees? 

6.  Discuss  the  forms  of  fertilizer  to  be  used  in  supplying  nitrogen. 

7.  From  what  sources  maj'   the  phosphoric  acid  be   derived?     Which   are 

best  for  young  trees? 

8.  What  two   forms   of  potash  are   in   common   use?     Give  an   advantage 

of  each. 

9.  Is  orchard  fertilizing  practised  in  your  section? 


CHAPTER  IX 

COVER  CROPS 

While  most  people  have  a  fairly  clear  idea  of  what  a  cover 
crop  is,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  begin  by  attempting  to  define 
it  so  that  we  may  have  a  definite  idea  of  just  what  is  meant  by 
the  term.  In  orchard  parlance,  then,  a  "cover  crop"  is  any 
crop  grown  in  the  orchard  solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  trees.  It 
is  usually  an  annual  crop  and  is  sown  in  the  orchard  during  the 
summer  and  plowed  under  the  following  spring.  In  actual 
practice  we  find  all  gradations,  from  the  orthodox,  typical  cover 
crop,  such  as  measures  up  to  the  definitions  given  above,  on 
through  such  plants  as  turnips,  which  are  primarily  cover  crops 
but  where  a  part  of  the  crop  may  be  harvested,  to  buckwheat, 
which  may  be  grown ,  primarily  as  a  companion  crop  and  sold, 
but  which  seizes  some  of  the  purposes  of  a  cover  crop. 

The  most  important  purposes  served  by  the  cover  crop  are 
the  following,  arranged  roughly  in  the  order  of  their  importance, 
though  the  order  would  vary  under  varying  conditions : 

Prevent  Washing. — The  cover  crop  serves  to  prevent  washing 
during  fall  and  spring  rains  and  to  make  the  orchard  comfortable 
to  go  about  in  during  muddy  weather  in  the  spring,  that  is,  it 
serves  as  a  cover.  A  crop  which  will  really  accomplish  all  this 
is  difficult  to  find,  but  it  ought  to  come  as  near  it  as  possible. 
There  is  no  question  that  the  loss  of  soluble  plant  food,  and  of 
actual  soil,  by  washing  is  one  of  the  great  drawbacks  to  cultiva- 
tion on  lands  which  are  even  slightly  rolling,  and  anything  which 
we  can  do  to  lessen  this  loss  ought  to  be  done.  Of  course  the 
cover  crop  helps  to  prevent  washing  both  by  its  roots  and  its 
tops.  It  is  therefore  important,  on  lands  which  are  subject  to 
washing,  to  select  a  plant  as  a  cover  crop  that  will  develop  a 
large  top  which  will  mat  down  on  the  surface  of  the  soil  and 
thus  prevent  the  water  from  moving,  and  one  which  also  has  a 
large  and  fibrous  root  system  that  will  hold  the  soil  particles  to- 
gether. Sometimes  these  two  characteristics  go  together,  but  fre- 
quently they  do  not  and  then  one  has  to  choose  between  them.  It 
is  difficult  to  say  which  is  the  more  important,  but  a  thick  mat 

109 


no  COVER  CROPS 

over  the  surface  will  certainly  accomplish  wonders  in  preventing 
washing  of  the  soil. 

Check  Fall  Growth. — The  cover  crop  serves  to  check  the 
growth  of  the  trees  in  the  autumn  and  thus  force  them  to  ripen 
up  their  wood  for  winter.  This  is  often  the  most  important  func- 
tion of  the  cover  crop  and  is  accomplished  by  its  appropriating 
water  and  plant  food  that  would  otherwise  go  to  the  trees.  When 
this  purpose  is  of  importance,  as  in  sections  with  rather  trying 
winter  climates,  one  should  select  a  crop  that  will  develop  a  rank 
growth  about  the  time  that  the  trees  ought  to  "sober  down," 
which  is  at  least  as  early  as  the  first  of  September.  The  date  of 
sowing  the  crop  must  of  course  be  varied  to  suit  its  rapidity  of 
growth  and  the  needs  of  the  trees.  If  the  owner  is  using  buck- 
wheat, which  comes  on  with  a  rush,  he  can  afford  to  delay  sow- 
ing much  later  than  if  he  is  using  soybeans,  which  require  a 
considerable  time  to  develop.  Another  very  important  point  in 
this  connection  is  the  question  of  whether  the  cover  crop  is  hardy 
or  is  killed  by  frost.  If  it  is  hardy,  the  date  of  seeding  may 
be  considerably  delayed,  which  is  sometimes  very  desirable  where 
the  trees  are  carrying  a  large  crop  of  fruit. 

The  cover  crop  adds  humus  to  the  soil,  and  where  barn  manure 
is  not  to  be  had  for  the  orchard,  which  is  frequently  the  case 
on  special  orchard  farms,  this  purpose  becomes  an  all-important 
one.  With  both  light  and  heavy  soils  it  is  particularly  important 
to  keep  up  the  supply  of  humus  because  they  are  both  damaged 
much  more  than  intermediate  types  when  the  humus  content  runs 
low.  For  these  soils  therefore  one  ought  to  select  some  large 
growing  crop  and  be  careful  to  secure  a  good  growth  of  it. 
This  latter  is  by  no  means  as  simple  a  matter  as  it  might  seem. 
Weather  conditions,  soil  conditions,  the  shade  of  the  trees,  and 
various  other  factors  come  in  to  influence  the  result,  and  unless 
the  owner  looks  out  for  all  the  details  he  is  likely  to  find  his 
orchard  going  into  the  winter  with  very  little  material  to  either 
prevent  wash  or  make  humus.  A  plan  which  has  been  tried  with 
considerable  satisfaction,  on  lands  where  it  was  difficult  to  get  a 
good  growth  of  cover  crop,  is  to  reserve  a  part  or  even  all  of  the 
fertilizer  tliat  is  intended  for  that  block  and  apply  it  just  previous 
to  sowing  the  cover  crop.    A  little  nitrogen  in  particular  applied 


THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  PURPOSE  111 

at  this  time  is  likely  to  be  a  great  help  in  starting  the  crop. 

The  cover  crop  takes  up  and  holds  plant  food  at  a  time  when 
the  trees  are  not  active.  The  importance  of  this  may  have  been 
over-emphasized,  but  it  is  certainly  worth  considering,  and  it  is 
one  argument  in  favor  of  those  crops  which  are  not  killed  by 
frost.  With  buckwheat,  for  example,  one  gets  little  of  this 
effect  because  it  is  killed  before  the  trees  have  stopped  growing. 
With  any  plant  which  lives  over  winter  we  get  this  benefit,  but 
the  amount  of  it  varies  with  the  amount  of  root  growth  of  the 
cover  plant.  If  the  soil  is  occupied  fully  by  the  roots  of  this  plant 
there  is  little  chance  of  loss. 

Add  Nitrogen. — A  leguminous  cover  crop  such  as  clover,  or 
beans,  or  vetch  will  add  nitrogen  to  the  soil  (Fig.  44).  This  is 
generally  understood  by  all  who  are  familiar  with  farm  matters 
but  is  frequently  overlooked  in  orchard  practice  as  well  as  else- 
where. These  plants  are  able,  through  the  bacteria  which  live 
in  the  little  nodules  on  their  roots,  to  take  up  and  "fix"  the 
free  nitrogen  of  the  air.  They  thus  offer  to  the  orchard  man  an 
abundant  supply  of  nitrogen  for  his  orchard  in  return  for  the 
effort  and  expense  of  sowing  the  seed.  In  fact  the  writer  recalls 
one  orchard  in  which  crimson  clover  was  used  as  a  cover  crop 
for  a  series  of  years,  where  the  soil  actually  became  too  rich 
in  nitrogen  for  the  best  condition  of  the  trees.  They  made 
too  much  growth  and  the  fruit  was  under-colored.  The  owner 
suspected  what  the  trouble  was,  had  the  soil  analyzed  by  his 
experiment  station,  which  told  him  that  his  soil  was  too  rich  in 
nitrogen  and  advised  him  to  change  cover  crops.  He  did  so, 
using  buckwheat  for  a  few  years,  and  the  trouble  was  entirely 
corrected.  This  is  not  a  common  difficulty,  but  is  mentioned  to 
show  the  possibilities  of  the  leguminous  crop.  As  nitrogen 
is  by  far  the  most  expensive  fertilizer  to  buy  and  as  the  cover 
crop  offers  a  convenient  method  of  getting  it  almost  without 
cost,  it  is  certainly  a  short-sighted  policy  of  soil  management 
which  does  not  include  leguminous  plants  often  enough  to  fur- 
nish at  least  a  large  part  of  the  nitrogen  needed. 

A  cover  crop  may  hold  the  snow  and  leaves  in  the  orchard 
during  the  winter.  To  do  this  to  the  best  advantage  it  must  be 
rather  a  stiff,  upright  crop,  which  is  not  the  type  of  crop  that 


112  COVER  CROPS 

gives  the  best  results  on  soil  washing  and  some  other  things. 
One  has  to  choose  therefore  between  this  character  and  the  others. 
In  climates  where  the  winters  are  severe,  and  where  snow  is  likely 
to  blow  oil'  from  the  orchard,  this  point  of  holding  it  as  a  pro- 
tection may  be  the  all-important  one  and  the  orchardists  may 
have  to  select  an  upright  crop  like  soybeans  or  buckwheat  or 
even  use  a  mixture  with  corn  or  some  other  heavy  plant  in  it, 
regardless  of  all  other  considerations. 

Protects  Fallen  Fruit. — The  cover  crop  serves  to  protect  the 
fruit  which  drops.  This  is  not  usually  considered  very  important 
and  can  often  be  disregarded,  but  with  fruit  such  as  Yellow 
Transparent  and  Red  Astrachan  apples,  which  ripen  irregularly 
and  have  to  be  disposed  of  quickly  in  any  case,  the  drops  are 
sometimes  worth  about  as  much  as  the  hand  picked  fruit. 

Prevents  ^Yinter  Injury  of  Roots. — It  prevents  the  freezing 
and  thawing  of  the  soil  and  consequent  injury  to  the  roots  during 
some  winters.  Any  one  who  is  not  familiar  with  this  effect  will 
be  surprised  at  the  difference  between  a  block  of  the  orchard 
with  a  good  cover  crop  on  it,  such  as  clover  or  vetch,  and  one  with 
no  crop  or  with  a  poor  one.  The  well  covered  block  will  stay 
frozen  through  a  long  rain  or  speU  of  mild  weather  while  the 
bare  land  freezes  and  thaws  with  every  change  in  the  temperature. 

In  a  few  cases  there  may  be  other  purposes  served  by  the 
cover  crop,  but  the  above  constitute  the  most  important  ones. 

Plowing  Under  Cover  Crops. — A  point  which  is  frequently 
misunderstood  and  w'hich  should  be  considered,  is  the  importance 
of  the  crop  living  over  winter.  There  is  often  a  prejudice,  for 
example,  against  crimson  clover  and  in  favor  of  common  red 
clover  because  the  former  does  not  always  live  over  winter,  while 
the  latter  does.  It  is  said  that  while  there  may  be  a  fine  growth 
of  the  crimson  clover  when  winter  comes  on,  yet  by  spring 
(in  cold  climates)  it  has  been  killed,  and  has  so  dried  up  and 
dwindled  away  that  there  is  little  left  to  plow  under.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  this  does  not  in  the  least  affect  its  value  as  a 
humus  producer.  There  will  be  just  as  much  humus  added  to 
the  soil  in  the  dried  remains  of  the  crop  as  there  would  have  been 
in  succulent  tissues  before  they  were  killed.  The  only  loss  has 
been  the  water  which  has  dried  out  of  the  stalks. 


PLANTS  TO  USE  113 

A  slightly  different  phase  of  the  same  prejudice  is  seen  in 
some  orchardists'  opinions  of  crops  which  do  live  over  winter. 
Many  men  will  insist  on  delaying  plowing  in  the  spring  until 
a  new  growth  can  be  produced,  no  matter  how  rank  the  growth 
may  have  been  in  the  autumn,  because  they  say  that  unless  they 
do  "there  is  so  little  to  plow  under."  It  sometimes  does  look 
small  in  the  spring,  but  it  M'ill  make  just  as  mucli  humus  as  it 
would  have  in  the  autumn. 

While  under  certain  conditions  there  may  be  no  objection  to 
allowing  some  growth  in  the  spring;  while,  in  fact,  it  may  be  a 
distinct  advantage  by  producing  extra  humus  and  sometimes  by 
drying  out  the  soil ;  j'et  there  is  always  great  danger  that  it  will 
be  allowed  to  stand  too  long.  On  heavy  soils  this  objection  is 
particularly  strong,  for  a  big  growth  of  the  crop  will  diy  out  the 
soil  very  rapidly  and,  if  the  weather  happens  to  turn  dry  at  just 
the  right  time,  the  soil  may  easily  become  too  dry  and  plow  up  in 
big  lumps  that  are  very  difficult  to  break  up.  On  the  whoh;  a 
crop  which  makes  a  big  growth  in  the  autumn  but  does  not  live 
over  winter  is  to  be  preferred  because  it  avoids  this  danger. 

Plants  to  Use. — A  great  many  different  plants  are  used  as 
cover  crops  in  the  orchard,  depending  on  the  locality,  the  type  of 
soil,  the  number  of  acres  to  be  covered,  the  owner's  pocketbook 
and  a  number  of  other  considerations.  Table  IV,  however,  in- 
cludes the  most  common  ones.  It  gives  also  the  usual  rate  per  acre, 
the  average  price  (though  this  varies  greatly  in  different  localities 
and  in  different  years)  and  the  cost  of  seeding  an  acre. 

The  last  column  is  very  suggestive  and  is  well  worth  careful 
study  by  the  orehardist.  Where  one  has  but  an  acre  or  two  of 
orchard  the  cost  for  seed  is  not  an  important  matter,  but  when 
it  runs  up  to  even  ten  acres  the  relative  cost  at  $6.00  per  acre 
or  16  cents  per  acre  is  certainly  worth  consideration. 

With  some  crops  it  is  possible  to  allow  a  strip  along  each 
tree  row  to  mature  seed  and  then,  by  cross-cultivation  when  the 
time  arrives  for  sowing  the  cover  crop,  to  scatter  this  seed  over 
the  entire  surface  of  the  orchard.  There  seems  to  be  no  serious 
objection  to  this  practice  and  it  will  reduce  materially  the 
running  expenses  of  the  orchard. 

Let  us  now  run  over  the  catalogue  of  crops  given  and  suggest 


114 


COVER  CROPS 


Tablb  rV. — Amount  and  Cost  of  Cover  Crop  Seed. 


Crop 


Buckwheat 

Cow  peas 

Cow-horn  and  purple  top  tur- 
nips  

Dwarf  Essex  rape 

Barley 

Rye 

Crimson  clover 

Mammoth  red  clover  and  com- 
mon red  clover 

Summer  vetch 

Winter  vetch 

Soybeans — broadcast 

Soybeans — in  drills 

Canada  field  peas 


Rate  per  Acre 


1  bu. 
VAhn. 

2  1b. 
2  1b. 
13^  bu. 
1 M  bu. 
15  lbs. 

12  lbs. 
13^  bu. 
1  bu. 
I3^bu. 
Mbu. 
13^  bu. 


$1.50  bu. 
3.00  bu. 

.35  lb. 

.08  lb. 
1.25  bu. 
1.65  bu. 

.10  lb. 

.25  lb. 
3.00  bu. 
6.00  bu. 
3.50  bu. 
3.50  bu. 
3.00  bu. 


Cost  per  Acre 


$1.50 
4.50 

.70 

.16 

1.88 

2.47 

1.50 

3.00 
4.50 
6.00 
5.25 
1.75 
4.50 


very  briefly  some  of  their  good  and  bad  ciiaracteristics,  taking 
them  in  the  order  mentioned  in  the  table. 

Buckwheat. — This  is  desirable  because  it  will  grow  on  almost 
any  soil,  leaves  the  land  in  better  physical  condition  than  perhaps 
any  other  crop,  furnishes  a  large  amount  of  humus,  is  reasonably 
cheap,  and  starts  so  quickly  after  sowing  that  it  will  smother 
out  many  annual  weeds.  This  last  point  is  particularly  im- 
portant where  one  has  witch  grass  to  contend  with.  On  the  other 
hand  buckwheat  furnishes  no  nitrogen,  makes  rather  a  poor 
cover,  and  is  killed  by  the  first  frost.  All  things  considered  the 
orchardist  should  class  buckwheat  as  among  the  best  three  or  four 
cover  crops  and  one  which  it  is  difficult  to  do  without  (Fig.  45). 

Cow  Peas. — These  are  rather  a  southern  crop  and -are  not  as 
good  as  several  other  crops  when  one  gets  north  of  Connecticut. 
In  their  own  section,  however,  they  are  famous  as  soil  improvers. 
They  are  sown  in  July  and  are  killed  by  fall  frost. 

Cow-horn  and  Purple-top  Turnips. — The  great  advantage  of 
these  plants  is  cheapness,  which  certainly  appeals  to  a  man  when 
he  has  fifty  acres  or  more  of  orchard  to  cover.  They  also  fur- 
nish an  immense  amount  of  humus,  make  a  fairly  good  cover, 
and  with  the  purple  tops  at  least  one  may  pull  out  and  sell 
enough  of  the  best  turnips  to  far  more  than  pay  all  the  expense 
of  the  crop  and  still  leave  plenty  on  the  ground  for  a  cover. 
8 


DWARF  ESSEX  RAPE 


115 


The  objections  to  turnips  are  that  they  furnish  no  nitrogen,  hut 
they  do  have  a  large  amount  of  sulfur  and  other  ill-sinelling 
constituents  which  are  likely  to  be  very  offensive  in  the  spring- 
when  the  crop  is  rotting  down  and  before  it  can  be  plowed  under. 
There  is  a  further  objection  that  they  are  likely  to  live  over 
winter  and  go  to  seed,  making  rather  an  unsightly  appearance 
to  people  who  are  easily  worried  by  such  things.    They  have  not 


-Buckwheat  as  a  cover  crop.     One  of  the  most  satisfactory  crops  for  this  purpose, 
especially  where  soil  conditions  are  not  of  the  best. 

proved  a  really  serious  weed  but  are  merely  a  little  too  con- 
spicuous with  their  gorgeous  yellow  flowers. 

Dwarf  Essex  Rape. — So  far  as  the  writer's  experience  and 
observation  go  this  is  the  cheapest  of  all  covers,  excepts  weeds, 
and  it  is  by  no  means  a  bad  crop  to  use.  It  will  grow  anywhere, 
grows  late  in  the  autumn,  and  usually  survives  the  winter,  so 
that  it  catches  and  holds  the  elusive  nitrates,  furnishes  a  fine  lot 
of  humus,  and  makes  a  surprisingly  good  cover,  as  it  has  a  very 


116  COVER  CROPS 

fibrous,  though  not  a  very  large,  root  system.  Where  a  good  stand 
lives  over  winter  it  is  sometimes  rather  difficult  to  get  rid  of  it 
and  it  is  always  unsightly.  These  are  not  serious  matters,  how- 
ever, for  a  cover  crop  is  not  grown  for  its  beauty,  and  by  using  a 
cultivator  with  broad  teeth  it  is  quite  possible  to  kill  out  the 
worst  case  of  this.  On  some  cultivators  there  is  a  broad,  V- 
shaped  affair  in  the  centre  called  a  "sweep,"  and  two  outside 
wings,  and  the  combination  will  pretty  nearly  clean  out  anything 
in  the  weed  line.    The  rape  crop  gathers  no  nitrogen  from  the  air. 

Barley. — This  is  an  excellent  crop  to  use  when  one  does  not 
care  to  have  a  nitrogenous  crop  and  also  does  not  want  to  use 
buckwheat.  It  generally  makes  a  good  cover,  particularly  late 
in  the  season,  is  not  seriously  expensive,  makes  an  unusually  fine 
lot  of  humus,  and  leaves  the  land  in  very  fair  condition.  Oats 
are  sometimes  used  in  this  way,  but  they  do  not  leave  the  soil  in  as 
good  condition  as  barley  and  they  are  not  included  in  the  list. 

Rye.— This  is  one  of  the  greatest  covers  on  the  list  when 
sown  at  the  right  time,  but  the  great  difficulty  with  it  from  the 
orchard  cover  crop  standpoint  is  that  it  makes  very  little  growth 
during  the  hot  weather  of  July,  August  and  early  September, 
so  that  it  is  of  practically  no  value  in  assisting  to  stop  the  growth 
of  the  trees.  It  will  grow  almost  anywhere.  Sown  about  Sep- 
tember first  it  makes  a  fine  covering  for  the  land  over  winter. 
When  spring  comes  it  has  another  shortcoming  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  orchard  and  that  is  that  it  stalks  up  very  quickly  and 
may  get  too  tall  and  coarse  to  plow  under  well.  It  will  also,  on 
heavy  land,  dry  out  the  soil  very  quickly  and  make  trouble  with 
lumps  when  the  land  is  plowed.  But  it  is  fine  to  prevent  washing 
of  the  soil,  is  reasonably  cheap,  furnishes  a  good  supply  of  humus, 
and  takes  care  of  all  soluble  plant  food,  so  that  it  can  not  be 
spared  from  the  list. 

Crimson  Clover. — When  this  plant  will  make  a  good  growth 
in  the  autumn  it  comes  the  nearest  to  the  ideal  of  a  cover  crop 
of  any  plant  in  the  list.  It  is  reasonably  cheap,  and  fulfils 
nearly  all  of  the  offices  detailed  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter 
as  belonging  to  the  ideal  cover  crop.  It  does  not  succeed  in  all 
climates  and  it  very  frequently  makes  a  poor  growth  for  the 
first  year  or  two  that  it  is  tried  on  a  particular  block  of  land. 


SOYBEANS  117 

But  if  the  owner  will  persist  in  his  efforts  to  grow  it,  it  will 
often  improve  year  by  year  until  it  makes  a  splendid  growth. 
Another  difiiculty  with  it  is  that  it  will  not  grow  on  poor  soil. 
The  orchard  must  be  in  "good  heart"  before  it  is  worth  while 
to  try  any  of  the  clovers  (Fig.  44). 

Mammoth  Red  and  Common  Red  Clover. — Many  good 
orchardists  do  not  have  much  use  for  these  plants  as  cover  crops 
where  the  land  is  being  cultivated  every  year,  as  is  usually  the 
case  in  orchards  conducted  on  the  cultivation  plan.  They  seldom 
make  any  growth  worth  while  the  first  autumn  and  therefore  to 
get  enough  humus  they  must  be  allowed  to  grow  in  the  spring, 
which,  as  already  explained,  is  very  objectionable.  Occasionally, 
however,  when  an  orchard  gets  to  growing  too  much  wood  and  the 
owner  wants  to  sober  it  down  by  seeding  down  the  land  and 
letting  it  stand  for  two  or  three  years,  the  clovers  are  particu- 
larly good  to  mix  with  the  grass  seed  that  is  used.  This  is  where 
these  clovers  shine,  in  "semi-permanent  seeding." 

The  Vetches. — Both  summer  and  winter  vetches  are  splendid 
crops  for  covers  and  if  the  seed  did  not  cost  so  much  they  would 
be  just  about  perfect.  But  the  seed  does  cost;  and  until  some 
method  is  devised  to  bring  down  the  cost  to  about  one-quarter 
what  it  is  at  present  they  are  going  to  be  rather  too  costly  for 
the  man  who  has  ten  acres  of  orchard  or  over.  It  is  unfortunate 
that  this  is  so,  as  vetches  are  certainly  about  all  that  could  be 
asked  for  the  purpose  in  view.  On  small  blocks  of  orchard,  or 
under  special  conditions,  they  may  be  admissible,  but  as  a  general, 
commercial  proposition  they  do  not  appeal  to  the  man  who  pays 
the  bills.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  plan  may  be  devised  whereby 
the  man  who  owns  an  orchard  can  grow  his  own  vetch  seed,  but 
at  present  that  method  has  not  been  developed. 

Soybeans. — This  is  a  cover  crop  which  orchardists  have  used 
with  a  good  deal  of  satisfaction  for  a  number  of  years,  but  it  has 
to  be  handled  quite  differently  from  most  cover  crops  to  be 
entirely  successful.  Sown  broadcast,  or  even  in  drill,  at  the 
ordinary  date,  it  fails  to  make  growth  enough  to  furnish  much 
humus  or  to  perform  any  of  the  offices  of  a  cover  crop  with  con- 
spicuous success.  But  if  it  can  be  drilled  in  about  the  middle 
of  June  with  the  rows  far  enough  apart  to  admit  of  cultivation. 


118  COVER  CROPS 

and  then  if  it  is  cultivated  two  or  perhaps  three  times  before  the 
orchard  is  laid  by,  it  will  do  splendidly.  For  sowing  soybeans 
in  this  way  the  grower  may  use  a  small  five-hole  drill  which  is 
used  largely  in  the  Middle  West  for  drilling  wheat  in  the  autumn 
into  land  where  corn  has  been  grown  the  summer  previous.  Stop 
up  all  but  the  two  outside  holes  and  then  spread  the  drill  as 
wide  as  possible.  Thus  two  rows  at  a  time  are  drilled  far  enough 
apart  to  cultivate.  After  the  plants  are  up  they  are  given  two 
or  three  cultivations  and  then  the  land  is  seeded  down  to  rape 
or  turnips  or  buckwheat  or  rye.  This  makes  a  fine  combination 
cover.  If  the  beans  come  along  nicely  and  ripen  a  good  crop  of 
seed,  it  may  be  harvested  and  threshed  and  will  usually  bring  two 
and  a  half  to  three  dollars  per  bushel  wholesale.  This  leaves 
whatever  else  was  sown  on  the  land  as  a  cover  and  the  soil  gets  the 
benefit  of  the  root-systems  of  the  soybeans  after  they  are  mown 
off.  On  the  other  hand  if  the  crop  is  not  good  enough  to  warrant 
harvesting,  if  the  stand  is  poor  or  the  frost  comes  before  the 
beans  are  mature  enough,  then  there  is  a  fine  crop  to  plow 
under.  The  common  white  pea-bean  may  be  grown  in  much  the 
same  way,  and  with  equal  satisfaction. 

Care  should  be  taken,  when  this  method  is  used  on  land  that 
is  subject  to  wash,  to  have  the  rows  run  crosswise  of  the  slope. 
If  this  is  overlooked  they  help  rather  than  hinder  washing  by 
keeping  the  water  in  certain  channels. 

Canada  field  peas  are  sometimes  used  and  will  make  the 
most  humus  to  the  square  inch  of  anything  that  ever  grew  in  an 
orchard.  It  is  the  only  crop  that  really  gives  serious  trouble  in 
plowing  it  under.  The  vines  are  so  rank  and  the  stal^ks  are  so 
heavy  that  it  is  like  tiying  to  plow  under  a  field  of  bean  poles. 
With  a  good  crop,  the  only  way  to  get  them  under  is  to  use  a 
rolling  coulter  on  the  plow,  and  even  then  they  wnll  sometimes 
clog  up  under  the  plow-beam.  But  they  do  furnish  humus  and 
nitrogen  in  abundance.  When  they  mat  down  on  the  surface 
they  will  stop  any  "wash"  but  a  cloud-burst. 

Mixtures. — Since  very  few  or  perhaps  no  crops  serve  all,  or 
even  a  large  part  of  the  "functions"  for  which  cover  crops  are 
sown,  it  is  often  desirable  to  use  mixtures  which  may  be  made  to 
do  practically  everything  which  is  required. 


WEEDS  119 

Here  are  some  mixtures  that  have  proved  satisfactory: 

1.  Barley,  cue-half  bushel ;  erimsou  clover,  six  pouuds. 

2.  Barley,  oue-half  bushel ;  winter  vetch,  one  peck. 

3.  The  above  combinations  with  buckwheat  instead  of  barley. 
This  general  type  of  mixture  is  best  because  it  contains  one 

rank  grower  to  check  the  growth  of  the  trees  and  to  furnish  humus 
and  one  perennial  legume  to  add  nitrogen,  act  as  a  "mat"  for 
the  windfalls  and  to  catch  and  hold  the  leaching  nitrates.  Look 
over  the  list  of  purposes  which  the  cover  crop  is  expected  to  serve 
and  see  how  well  either  of  these  mixtures  will  fill  the  bill.  Take 
No.  1  as  an  example.  Both  barley  and  clover  prevent  washing 
fairl.y  well,  but  the  clover  is  especially  good.  The  rank  gi'owth 
of  the  barley  will  check  the  growth  of  the  trees,  and  add  much 
humus.  It  will  also  hold  the  snow  and  leaves,  and  assist  in  pre- 
venting winter  injury.  The  clover  on  the  other  hand,  while  not 
strong  on  these  points,  grows  late  in  the  autumn,  and  so  takes  up 
the  soluble  food  at  that  time,  it  adds  nitrogen,  is  excellent  for 
protecting  the  windfall  fiiiits,  and  assists  materiall^^  in  prevent- 
ing winter  injury. 

The  principal  objection  to  a  mixture  is  that  it  takes  more 
time  to  sow  it  since  seeds  must  either  be  mixed  or  else  two  sowing 
operations  will  be  required,  one  for  each  seed. 

Weeds. — It  seems  worth  while  to  add  that  some  orchard  men 
make  use  of  weeds  as  a  cover  crop.  Where  they  can  be  depended 
upon  for  a  good  stand  they  are  better  than  nothing.  In  fact  there 
is  probably  no  really  legitimate  objection  to  them,  except  with  a 
very  few  such  as  witch  grass.    Of  course  they  add  no  nitrogen. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  is  a  corn  crop? 

2.  What  are  the  most  important  \ises  of  orchard  cover  crops? 

3.  Why  should  the  fall  growth  of  trees  he  checked?     How  does  the  cover 

crop  assist  in  this? 

4.  What  class  of  cover  crops  add  nitro<2:en  to  soils? 

5.  Is  there  any  advantage  in  having  the  cover  live  over  winter? 

6.  Give  a  list  of  the  crops  most  suitahle  for  winter  covers  in  your  section. 

7.  Discuss  the  advantage  of  several  of  these. 
S.  What  ones  are  legumes? 

0.  What  ones  live  over  winter?     What  ones  are  killed  by  fall  frosts? 
JO.  What  is  the  objection  to  perennial  crops  for  this  purposp? 


CHAPTER  X 
PRUNING 

No  other  operation  connected  with  growing  an  orchard  can 
compare  in  interest  with  pruning.  It  requires  more  knowledge, 
more  experience,  and  more  thought  than  any  other  orchard  work. 
Probablj^  it  is  also  true  that  we  know  less  about  it  (or  think  we 
know  more  things  that  are  not  so)  than  about  most  other  opera- 
tions. Yet  books  have  been  written  and  might  still  be  written 
about  what  is  known  of  the  art  and  science  of  pruning. 


FiQ.  46. — A  young  apple  tree  started  on  the  wrong  road  by  bad  pruning.    All  the  fruit  spurs 
have  been  removed  from  the  lower  branches. 

In  the  present  chapter  we  shall  attempt  merely  to  under- 
stand a  few  of  the  most  universally  accepted  general  principles 
and  to  bring  out  some  of  the  practical  details  of  pruning  our 
common  orchard  fruits. 

How  Trees  Bear  their  Fruit. — One  of  the  first  things  for  the 
would-be  pruner  to  acquire  is  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 
way  in  which  the  different  orchard  trees  bear  their  fruit.  Many 
a  good  apple  tree  has  had  its  usefulness  curtailed  because  the 
man  who  pruned  it  did  not  realize  the  vital  importance  of  the 


THE  APPLE  AND  PEAR  121 

little  crooked  spurs  along  its  branches,  but  insisted  in  clearing 
them  off  to  make  the  tree  look  more  neat.  Figure  46  shows  an 
excellent  example  of  a  young  apple  tree  which  has  been  thus 
started  on  the  wrong  road,  and  Figure  94  shows  an  old  orchard 
which  has  travelled  that  road  for  years,  in  fact  it  has  travelled 
it  so  long  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  get  it  onto  any  other 
road. 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  this  side  of  the  question,  it  may 
be  worth  while  to  begin  by  summing  up  briefly  the  method  of 
fruit-])earing  in  each  of  the  principal  orchard  fruits. 

The  apple  and  pear  may  be  discussed  together  since  their 
plan  of  bearing  is  practically  identical.  INIost  varieties  of  these 
two  fruits  bear  almost  altogether  on  short,  crooked  little  branches, 
known  technically  as  "fruit  spurs."     There  are  some  varieties 


J'IG.    47. — An   applo    frviit  spur      Thia  spuria  perhapa  six  inches  long  and  has  prooaoiy 
borne  five  apples.    Yet  many  primers  systematically  cut  them  off  the  trees. 

which,  particularly  when  young,  bear  fruit  from  lateral  buds  on 
the  one  year  wood,  and  even  for  terminal  buds  on  this  wood,  but 
this  is  rather  uncommon.  An  apple  spur  is  shown  in  Figure  47. 
This  particular  spur  has  a  terminal  bud  on  each  of  two  very 
short  branches.  In  the  spring  these  buds  expand  and  produce  a 
number  of  leaves,  perhaps  a  half  dozen,  surrounding  from  four  to 
six  blossoms.  Under  normal  conditions  one  of  these  blossoms  sets 
a  fruit  and  the  balance  fall  away.  The  growing  and  ripening  of 
this  apple  takes  about  all  the  strength  of  the  spur,  but  it  usually 
manages  to  develop  at  one  side  a  small  leaf  bud  which  the  follow- 
ing year  makes  a  very  short  growth  in  a  new  direction  and  at  the 
end  of  the  season  produces  another  large,  plump  terminal  bud. 
The  following  year  this  bud  bears  an  apple,  and  so  on.  We  thus 
have  the  spur  bearing  an  apple  every  alternate  year  and  con- 
tinuing its  slow,  crooked  growth  for  a  long  series  of  years.    The 


122 


PRUNING 


spur  shown  in  Figure  47  was  about  ten  years  old  and  was  probably 
not  more  than  six  inches  long.  It  had  borne  at  least  five  apples. 
This  is  practically  the  only  way  in  which  most  varieties  of 
apples  and  pears  are  produced,  upon  these  little  spurs,  so  that 
the  man  who  gets  enthusiastic  for  cleanliness  and  prunes  off  all 
of  these  little  spurs  from  his  apple  and  pear  trees  is  simply  spoiling 
his  chance  of  getting  any  fruit  from  that  particular  part  of  the 
tree.  Just  contrast  the  pear  branch  shown  in  Figure  48,  with  its 
wealth  of  these  little  spurs,  with  the  young  tree  shown  in  Figure 


FiQ.  48.— A  pear  branch  we'l  supplied  with  fruit  spurs.     Such  a  branch  is  eapable  of  bearing 
a  maximum  crop. 

46.  In  the  one  case  the  owner  stands  a  chance  to  have  his  tree 
loaded  down  with  fruit,  while  in  the  other  he  can  not  by  any  possi- 
bility get  fruit  from  that  part  of  the  tree  where  the  fruit  spurs 
have  been  cleaned  away. 

Two  other  facts  in  connection  with  these  little  spurs  ought 
to  be  kept  firmly  in  mind.  The  first  is  that,  as  already  hinted, 
they  continue  to  bear  for  a  long  series  of  years.  It  is  nothing 
uncommon  for  one  of  these  spurs  to  continue  to  bear  for  twelve 
or  fifteen  years  and  as  it  branches  considerably  it  may  produce 
in  that  time  ten  apples.    Think  of  the  value  of  such  a  spur  to  the 


HOW  PEACHES  ARE  BORNE 


123 


man  who  owns  the  tree,  yet  he  is  frequently  the  man  who  cuts  it 
off.  The  second  point  to  be  emphasized  is  that  once  these  spurs  are 
cut  or  broken  away,  they  can  never  be  developed  again  at  that 
spot.  The  only  possible  way  that  this  section  of  the  tree  can  be 
again  brought  into  usefulness  is  by  developing-  watersprouts  on 
these  bare  branches  and  then  growing  fruit  spurs  on  the  water 
sprouts,  a  long  and  difficult  process. 

Pruning  the  apple  or  pear' 
tree,  therefore,  ought  to  consist  in 
thinning  out  the  top  so  as  to  let 
in  enough  light  and  air  to  keep 
it  healthy,  and  in  holding  on  to 
these  small  spurs  just  as  long  as 
they  remain  productive. 

With  those  varieties  which 
bear  on  the  one-year  wood,  as  the 
Wealthy,  AVagener,  and  Olden-  t^m^ 
burg  do  to  a  considerable  extent 
the  fruit  spurs  become  somewhat 
less  important  because  one  can 
get  some  fruit  even  without  the 
spurs.  But  even  with  these 
varieties  the  spurs  form  a  very  ^ 
important  part  of  the  fruiting 
machinery  of  the  tree. 

How  Peaches  are  Borne. — Now  contrast  this  method  of  bear- 
ing and  pruning  with  the  peach.  It  is  about  as  different  as  one 
can  well  imagine.  To  begin  with,  the  peach  always  bears  on  last 
year's  shoots  instead  of  on  these  little  spurs  (Fig.  49)  Then  the 
fruit  buds,  instead  of  being  ' '  mixed  ' '  buds,  as  in  the  apple,  are 
plain  blossom  buds,  each  winter  bud  containing  a  single  blossom. 
This  is  probably  one  reason  why  peaches  are  more  subject  to 
\nnter-killing  of  the  fruit  buds  than  apples.  They  are  not  nearly 
so  well  protected.  And  lastly  the  bearing  section  of  the  tree  in 
the  peach  migrates  along  the  branch,  instead  of  remaining  practi- 
cally stationary  for  years,  as  in  the  apple. 


Fig.  49 — Young  peaches  just  set.  Notice 
that  most  nodes  have  two  peaches  and  a 
cluster  of  leaves. 


124 


PRUNING 


The  whole  object  of  the  peach  primer  is  therefore  to  keep  up 
a  supply  of  new  wood.  His  short,  interior  twigs  are  often  useless 
after  one  year,  in  which  case  he  may  cut  them  out  altogether. 
In  any  case  he  prunes  his  tree  much  more  severely  than  in  the 
apple,  so  as  to  develop  new  growth.  Sometimes  this  new  growth, 
resulting  from  severe  pruning,  is  so  vigorous  that  it  does  not 
bear  much  the  first  year  but  the  operator  knows  that  he  can  rely 


Fig.  50. — Spurs  of  the  European  plum.     They  differ  from  the  apple  in  being  straight  and 

in  not  living  so  long. 

Fig.  51. — Cherry  spurs.    Similar  to  the  plum. 

on  its  sobering  down  by  the  second  year  and  producing  a  lot  of 
good  new  shoots  that  will  bear. 

The  "  leaders  "  in  the  peach  need  especial  attention.  From 
the  very  fact  that  the  method  of  bearing  is  progressive,  there 
is  a  strong  tendency  for  these  leaders  to  get  away  and  carry  the 
tree  to  undue  heights.  This  disposition  is  especially  strong  in 
young  trees,  and  for  several  years  after  the  tree  is  set  the  pruner 
has  to  take  out  practically  all  the  leaders,  even  though  he  knows 
that  they  will  be  replaced  by  an  equally  strong  growth. 


THE  QUINCE  125 

The  plums  and  the  cherry  may,  perhaps,  be  classed  together 
because  their  methods  of  bearing,  though  differing  in  many 
minor  details,  are  essentially  the  same.  They  all  agree  in  bear- 
ing  their  fruit  not  only  on  the  sides  of  shorter  or  longer  spurs,  but 
also  from  the  lateral  buds  of  last  year's  growth.  These  spurs, 
which  may  be  seen  in  Figures  50  and  51,  differ  from  those  of  the 
apple  in  that  they  produce  their  fruit  from  lateral  buds  and  also 
in  that  they  do  not  live  nearly  so  long  as  the  apple  spurs.  These 
fruits  also  agree  fairly  closely  in  the  character  of  the  winter 
blossom  bud,  which  is  about  half  way  between  that  of  the  peach 
and  the  apple.    There  are  usually  two  or  more  blossoms  in  each 


ffiQ.  52. — Blossoms  of  the  Japanese  plum.     These  bear  on  short,  plump  spurs  which  carry 
a  large  number  of  blossom  buds  and  consequently  set  fruit  very  abundantly. 

winter  bud  and  one  or  more  leaves,  though  the  leaves  are  fre- 
quently rather  rudimentary^  (Figs.  52,  53  and  54). 

In  pruning  these  trees  the  orchardist  adopts  a  middle  course. 
They  are  not  pruned  as  severely  as  in  the  peach  because  the 
spurs  are  going  to  bear  for  three  or  four  or  even  more  years,  but 
they  are  pruned  more  severely  than  the  apple  because  the  bearing 
wood  has  to  be  renewed  more  frequently. 

The  Quince. — It  remains  to  speak  briefly  of  the  quince, 
which  has  a  method  of  fruit  bearing  entirely  its  own.  There 
are  not  any  winter  fruit  buds  whatever ;  but  each  spring,  shoots 
arise  from  lateral  buds  on  last  year's  w^ood,  and  after  these 


126  PRUNING 

shoots  have  grown  from  one  to  six  inches  they  produce  a  single, 
terminal  blossom,  which  of  course  stops  any  further  growth  in 
that  direction.  The  pruning  ought  therefore  to  aim  at  keeping 
the  tree  growing  with  reasonable  vigor,  and  at  keeping  up  a 
supply  of  new  wood. 

General  Principles  of  Pruning. — It  seems  worth  while  to 
notice  next  a  very  few  general  principles  which  apply  with 
greater  or  less  force  to  the  pruning  of  any  tree. 


Fia.  63. — Blossoms  of  the  European  phim.      Notice  the  blossoms  and  small  or  rudimentary 

leaves  from  each  winter  bud. 

Fig.  64. — Cherries  just  set.     Notice  that  only  one  (or  two)  in  each  cluster  is  developing. 

The  rest  will  be  crowded  out  in  the  struggle  for  existence. 

Heavy  Pruning  and  Vigorous  Growth. — The  first,  and  by  all 
means  the  most  important  of  these,  is  that  a  heavy  pruning  of 
the  top  during  the  dormant  season  will  tend  to  cause  a  very 
vigorous  wood  growth  the  following  season.  This  is  exactly 
what  might  be  expected  and  is  easily  explained  if  one  will  think 
the  matter  over  a  little.  When  the  tree  goes  into  the  winter  there 
is  normally  a  balance  between  the  top  and  tlie  root  system.  Each 
one  has  grown  enough  so  that  when  spring  comes  'round  again 
and  growth  begins,  the  roots  can  supply  tiie  food  and  water  that 
will  be  needed  to  make  a  natural,  typical  growth  of  the  top. 
Now  comes  along  the  pruner  and  takes  off  twenty-five  to  fifty 
per  cent,  of  that  top.    The  result  is  that  there  remains  one  hun- 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  PRUNING  127 

dred  per  cent,  of  roots  to  support  fifty  per  cent,  of  top,  and  of 
course  the  top  is  going  to  be  better  supported.  It  is  going  to 
make  a  tremendous  growth  to  try  and  take  care  of  all  the  food 
that  the  root  is  supplying.  This  is  an  especially  important  princi- 
ple in  renovating  work,  which  is  discussed  in  Chapter  XVI. 

Very  Rank  Growth  Opposed  to  Fruit-hearing. — A  second 
general  principle  which  ought  to  go  with  this  first  one,  though  it 
it  not  strictly  a  principle  of  pruning,  is  that  very  rank  MOod 
growth  is  opposed  to  fruit-bearing.  One  will  rarely  find  a  tree 
which  is  growing  very  vigorously  that  is  also  bearing  heavily.  The 
two  things  simply  do  not  go  together.  The  young  tree,  so  long 
as  it  remains  vigorous  and  growthy,  does  not  come  into  bear- 
ing. In  general  it  is  those  varieties,  like  the  Wagener  and  Olden- 
burg apples,  w^iich  are  not  extremely  vigorous  growers,  that  bear 
early  in  life,  while  the  strong  growing  sorts  like  Gravenstein  and 
Spy  require  more  time  to  come  into  fruit.  So  it  is  with  the  heavily 
pruned  old  tree.  It  at  once  starts  a  very  vigorous  growth  of  top 
but  does  not  bear  fruit  until  it  has  time  for  this  growth  to  subside. 

The  lesson  Avhich  these  two  principles  teach  is  very  fre- 
quently overlooked  by  the  man  who  does  the  pruning.  He  gauges 
his  success  by  the  amount  of  wood  he  takes  out  of  the  tree,  and 
then  when  the  tree  fails  to  bear  the  following  year  he  blames 
the  practice  of  pruning  instead  of  the  operator. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  tree  must  be  making  a  reasonably  good 
growth  in  order  to  bear  well.  In  recent  years  the  tendency  has 
been  to  put  less  emphasis  on  the  danger  of  vigorous  growth.  Un- 
less the  tree  reaches  what  might  be  described  as  very  vigorous 
growth  there  is  little  danger.  Probably  more  orchards  have  their 
bearing  reduced  by  too  little  growth  than  by  too  much  growth. 

Influence  of  Summer  Pruning. — A  third  principle  is  that  when 
pruning  is  done  in  the  winter  the  tendency  is  to  promote  a 
strong  growth  of  wood,  while  pruning  done  in  the  summer 
tends  in  the  opposite  direction,  or  towards  the  production  of 
fruit.  There  can  be  no  question  about  the  first  part  of  this. 
It  is  the  same  fact  that  was  given  in  the  first  principle,  only 
stated  a  little  differently.  The  strength  of  the  tendency  will 
correspond   exactly  to  the  severity   of  the   pruning.     Prune  a 


128 


PRUNING 


tree  very  severely  during  the  dormant  season  and  you  will 
develop  a  very  strong  tendency  towards  wood  growth  the  follow- 
ing year;  prune  it  very  moderately  and  the  tendency  to  wood 
will  be  moderate.  The  other  side  of  the  principle,  the  influence 
of  summer  pruning  towards  the  production  of  fruit,  is  not  so 
well  established  and  doubtless  depends  considerably  on  the 
nature  and  extent  of  such  pruning.    If  a  large  amount  of  wood  is 

FxG.  65.  FiQ.  56. 


(  \  !  / 


FiQ.  55. — A  Sutton  apple  tree.     A  very  upright  growing  tree  and  one  that  is  difBcult  to 
prune  into  a  satisfactory  shape. 

Fig.  56. — Bradahaw  plum  tree.     Like  many  other  varieties  of  European  plums  the  Bradshaw 
makes  strong  leaders  which  need  to  be  cut  back  each  year  to  keep  the  tree  down. 

removed  in  the  summer  pruning,  and  particularly  if  this  is  done 
rather  early  in  the  season,  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  there  is 
much,  if  any,  tendency  towards  fruit.  In  fact  such  pruning 
will  usually  result  in  developing  secondary  shoots  which  may 
produce  quite  as  much  growth  as  the  original  shoot  would  have 
done.  But  if  the  pruning  is  delayed  until  rather  late  in  the 
season,  and  if  it  then  consists  in  merely  taking  out  the  growing 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  PRUNING  129 

tip  of  the  leaders,  then  it  ought  to  have  a  considerable  influence 
towards  fruit-bearing. 

This  seems  to  be  a  reasonable  explanation.  We  have  said 
that  rank  growth  does  not  favor  fruit,  while  moderate  growth 
does.  This  is  because  it  is  necessary  to  have  plenty  of  elabo- 
rated plant  food,  such  as  starch  and  sugar  in  the  cells  to 
produce  the  fruit  bud.  It  is  the  lack  of  this  elaborated  plant 
food  which  forces  the  little  apple  spur  to  produce  merely  a  leaf 
bud  the  year  that  it  bears  an  apple.  Now  if  the  sununer  prun- 
ing is  delayed  until  rather  late  in  the  season  so  that  plenty  of 
leaf  surface  has  been  developed  to  majiufacture  starch  and  sugar, 
and  if  we  then  merely  take  out  the  growing  tip  we  develop 
exactly  the  conditions  that  will  tend  towards  fruit.  We  have 
taken  away  that  part  of  the  plant  which  Avas  forming  new  leaves 
and  new  wood  and  which  was  therefore  using  a  large  amount 
of  plant  food  (far  more  than  it  was  itself  producing),  and  we 
have  left  the  manufacturing  end  of  the  tree  practically  the 
same  as  it  was  before.  There  is  nothing  left  for  the  tree  to  do 
but  to  develop  fruit  buds. 

Different  Pruning  for  Old  and  Young  Trees. — It  is  perhaps 
worth  Avhile  to  give  one  more  general  principle  and  that  is  that 
the  habit  of  growth  is  quite  different  in  a  young  tree  from  that 
in  an  old  tree,  aiid  consequently  the  young  tree  requires  a 
different  kind  of  pruning.  This  difference  is  shown  in  various 
ways.  In  the  first  place  the  young  tree  grows  more  rankly, 
producing  longer  shoots  and  larger  leaves. 

In  the  second  place  young  trees  of  most  varieties  tend  to 
make  a  much  more  upright  growth  while  young  than  when  they 
get  older.  This  is  especially  true  of  certain  varieties  of  plums, 
apples,  and  pears,  but  it  applies  more  or  less  to  nearly  all  kinds 
of  tree  fruits  except  a  certain  few,  like  the  Burbank  and  fSatsuma 
plums,  which  are  persistent  sprawlers  from  the  start  (Fig.  57). 
Now  if  one  of  these  close-growing  young  trees  is  thinned  out 
during  the  first  few  years  to  what  may  seem  the  proper  degree 
of  density  then,  when  it  comes  into  bearing,  and  the  branches 
spread,  as  they  naturally  will,  with  the  load  of  fruit  the  top  is 
entirely  too  open.     The  pruner  ought,  therefore,  to  understand 


130 


PRUNING 


his  variety  and  if  it  is  an  upright  grower,  as  the  Bartlett  pear, 
it  should  be  allowed  to  remain  somewhat  too  thick  while  young, 
knowing  that  when  it  comes  into  bearing  it  will  correct  this 
difficulty  of  itself. 

Pruning  Tools. — Let  us  turn  now  to  some  of  the  practical 
details  of  pruning  the  orchard.  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  pro- 
vide a  suitable  outfit  of  pruning  tools.  This,  of  course,  is  going 
to  vary  with  the  type  of  pruning  that  one  is  doing,  but  for 


FiQ.  57. — A  Burbank  plum  tree;  one  of  those  sprawling  growing  varieties  which  need  to 
have  the  side  leaders  cut  back  every  year. 


general  pruning,  for  doing  all  the  different  kinds  that  one  is 
likely  to  be  called  upon  to  do,  there  should  be  at  least  several 
different  saws,  a  good  pair  of  hand  shears,  and  a  knife.  Possibly 
we  might  add  the  pole  pruner,  though  it  is  rare  that  it  is  needed 
and  then  it  is  unsatisfactory,  as  it  can  not  be  made  to  take 
off  a  branch  properly.  The  one  place  where  a  pole  pruner  is 
really  useful  is  in  heading  back  side  branches  that  are  out  of 
reach  from  the  ground.  The  knife  will  be  used  the  least  of  any 
part  of  the  equipment,  barring  the  pole  pruner,  but  still  the 


'""''SP''6i^ 


PRDNING  SAWS  131 

workman  does  occasionally  find  a  place  where  nothing  is  quite  so 
satisfactory  as  a  good  knife — in  removing  side  shoots  from  the 
trunk  of  a  young  tree,  for  example. 

Pruning  Saws. — It  is  a  singular  thing,  but  the  writer  has 
seldom  found  a  pruning  saw  upon  the  market  that  exactly  suited 
him  for  serious  orchard  work.  The  fact  that  nine-tenths  of  the 
pruning  saws  on  the  market  are  of  the  two-edged  type  lends 
strength  to  the  argument  that  there  are  at  least  very  few  good 
pruning  saws  to  be  had  (Fig.  59).  This  two-edged  pruning  saw 
is  a  relic  of  barbarism  which  probably  comes  down  from  the  days 
of  the  two-edged  sword  when  men  were  not  particular  how  much 
they  mutilated  the  remains  of  their  victims.  Certainly  no  man 
who  has  ever  done  any  pruning,  and  who  has  any  regard  for  the 
tree  he  is  at  work  upon,  would  ever  use  such  a  saw  the  second 


Fia.  59. — The  two-edged  saw.  An  abomination  that  ought  to  be  banished  from  the  orchard. 

time  if  it  could  be  avoided.  After  a  good  deal  of  thought  and 
some  experimenting,  and  after  many  consultations  with  practical 
orchard  men,  the  writer  has  developed  the  series  of  saws  shown 
in  the  accompanying  pictures  (Figs.  60,  61  and  62),  which,  if 
they  are  not  entirely  satisfactory,  are  at  least  a  great  improve- 
ment over  most  saws  that  could  be  bought  in  the  open  market. 
They  were  all  made  up  on  special  orders,  by  one  of  our  large 
saw  manufacturers. 

The  largest  saw  is  designed  for  renovation  work  primarily, 
and  any  one  who  has  ' '  fiddled  along  ' '  with  one  of  the  ordinary 
small  pruning  saws,  or  who  has  in  desperation  resorted  to  a 
big,  clumsy  carpenter's  saw,  will  be  delighted  with  the  way  this 
saw  works.  It  was  modelled  after  an  old  carpenter's  saw  that 
had  been  filed  so  often  it  had  been  reduced  nearly  to  a  point, 


132 


PRUNING 


and  the  narrowness  at  the  point  of  this  saw  shown  will  be 
appreciated  by  the  orchard  renovator  who  gets  into  a  narrow 
place.     The  specifications  of  tJie  saw  will  be  found  beneath  the 


Fia.  61. 


^  ^ 


Fia.  60. — A  good  saw  for  small  trees.     It  is  14  inches  long,  three  inches  wide  at  the  butt, 

with  seven  teeth  per  inch. 
Fig.  61. — An  excellent  saw  for  heavy  pruning.      It  is  26  inches  long,  6  inches  wide  at  the 

butt,  1  inch  wide  at  the  tip  and  has  five  teeth  per  inch. 

FiQ.  62. — A  good  saw  for  ordinary  pruning.     It  is  24  inches  long,  4  inches  wide  at  the  butt, 

1  inch  wide  at  the  tip,  with  five  and  one-half  teeth  per  inch. 


Fig.  62a. — 'Tapered  or  swivel  pruning  saw.  A  very  satisfactory  saw.  Works  easily  and  is  large 
enough  for  almost  any  limb  that  one  would  want  to  remove  in  a  well-kept  bearing  orchard. 

picture.  In  developing  this  saAV  the  large  type  of  tooth  was  first 
tried;  this  is  known  technically  as  the  lumberman's  tooth,  and  is 
shown  in  the  cut  of  the  two-edged  saw.  This  tooth  was  tried 
because  it  seemed  reasonable  that  a  large  tooth,  on  a  saw  of  this 
type,  would  cut  faster  than  a  small  one,  but  in  actual  orchard 


PRUNING  SHEARS 


133 


work  it  was  found  that  it  required  more  effort  to  cut  off  a 
branch  with  the  coarse-toothed  saw  than  with  the  finer  type. 
The  saw  did  not  have  weight  enough  to  carry  heavy  teeth. 

The  second  and  third  saws  are  intended  for  use  on  trees 
which  have  been  well  cared  for  and  regularly  pruned  and  which  do 
not  need  to  have  any  large  branches  taken  out.  The  writer  is  still 
experimenting  on  both  of  these  sizes  and  may  develop  some  slight 
changes,  but  they  are  satisfactorj-  just  as  they  stand.  The  small 
saw,  in  Figure  60,  is  intended  primarily  for  work  in  young  trees, 
but  it  will  do  excellent  work  on  anv  ur(liuar\-  fruit  tree.    It  means 


Fig.  63. — An  excellent  type  of  pruning  shears.    A  large  part  of  the  pruning  on  many  trees 
may  be  done  with  a  shear  of  this  type. 

more  work  to  get  off  a  large  limb  with  this  saw  than  with  those 
shown  in  Figures  61  and  62. 

Another  type  of  pruning  saw  which  Avill  be  found  very  satis- 
factory when  one  becomes  accustomed  to  using  it,  is  the  saw 
shown  in  Fig.  62a.  This  is  a  more  recent  development  and  the 
great  advantage  of  it  is  the  ease  with  which  it  cuts.  It  is  surpris- 
ing, too,  to  anj'one  who  has  not  tried  this  saw,  what  large  branches 
can  be  removed  with  it.  It  is  quite  equal  to  most  of  the  pruning 
in  any  well-kept  orchard. 

Pruning  Shears. — Next,  to  a  saw,  a  good  pair  of  hand  shears 
will  be  found  useful.  In  fact  where  the  orchardist  is  pruning 
young  trees,  say  up  to  six  or  seven  years,  and  where  he  has  a  large 
pair  of  shears,  of  the  type  shown  in  Figure  63,  it  is  surprising 
how  seldom  it  is  necessary  to  resort  to  the  saw.  The  shears  shown 
art  imported,  being  made  in  France.  They  are  known  teclmically 
as  the  "  French  wheel-spring  shears."    It  seems  unfortunate  to 


134 


PRUNING 


be  obliged  to  recommend  an  imported  article ;  perhaps  the  writer 
has  been  unfortunate  in  the  American  shears  he  has  used,  but  he 
has  tried  many  makes  and  none  of  them  have  stood  up  under  hard 
usage  like  this  French  make.  In  buying  such  shears  get  good- 
sized  ones  for  heavy  work.  A  ten-inch  size  of  this  pattern  is  none 
too  large  when  one  is  going  to  do  a  lot  of  heavy  pruning.  For 
example :    A  foreman  of  a  pruning  gang  used  one  of  these  ten- 


Fni.  64. — A  good  type  of  pruning  knife.    Long 
lioulied  blade  and  large  enough  for  lieavy  work. 


Fig.  65. — A  good  oonibination  knife; 

l)runuig,    budding    and 

ordinary  blades. 


inch  shears  for  pruning  three  thousand  peach  trees  four  and  five 
years  old,  and  an  equal  number  of  apple  trees  from  one  to  five 
years;  after  all  this  pruning  the  shears  were  in  good  working  order. 
A  good  knife  completes  the  outfit  for  most  work.  A  heavy 
knife,  with  a  wide  blade  and  a  hook  on  the  end  of  the  blade,  is 
best.  The  one  shown  in  Figure  64  suits  the  work  admirably, 
though  a  man  will  use  a  pair  of  shears  a  thousand  times  for  every 
time  he  uses  a  knife.  The  second  knife  shown  in  Figure  65  is  a 
good  one,  with  a  budding  blade  and  an  ordinary  blade,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  pruner.  Where  a  man  wants  to  do  various  things  with 
the  knife  it  is  probably  worth  having.  Usually,  the  workman  pre- 
fers to  have  his  blade  in  different  handles,  and  carry  only  the 
type  of  knife  for  which  he  has  immediate  use. 


YOUNG  TREES  135 

Actual  Pruning. — Now  let  us  sally  forth  'with  our  newly- 
acquired  pruning  tools  and  do  some  actual  pruning.  Every 
different  tree  will  prove  to  be  a  different  problem.  This  is  one 
thing  that  makes  pruning  interesting.  Two  of  these  problems  will 
suffice  for  illustration. 

Young  Trees. — The  first  is  the  j'oung  tree.  Like  training 
children  this  is  the  most  important  and  difficult  stage.  At  the 
time  of  setting,  the  tree  is  given  a  severe  pruning  as  outlined  in 
chapter  four.  For  several  years  thereafter  something  like  the 
following  program  is  followed : 

Fii'st. — The  head  of  the  tree  is  examined  to  see  that  the  main 
branches  are  satisfactoiy  in  number  and  in  position.  With  the 
vase  form  tree  there  ought  to  be  from  three  to  five  of  these  main 
scaffold  branches  and  they  should  be  well  distributed  about  the 
tree,  not  coming  out  at  the  same  height  and  not  too  many  of  them 
on  any  one  side.  This  is  a  more  serious  problem  than  some  miglit 
think,  particularly  Avith  certain  varieties  such  as  the  Wealthy 
apple,  -which  do  not  tend  to  form  good  heads  naturally.  It  will 
require  ten  times  the  effort  on  this  one  point  to  shape  up  satis- 
factorily a  block  of  Wealthy  trees  that  it  will  to  develop  a  similar 
block  of  Mcintosh  trees.  It  is  well  worth  while  to  look  after  this 
matter  of  main  branches  during  the  growing  season,  and  it  ought 
to  be  settled  as  early  in  the  life  of  the  tree  as  possible.  Yet  with  all 
one's  care  it  often  happens  that  branches  will  not  develop  in  the 
right  place  at  the  start,  and  the  pruner  must  keep  at  the  tree  until 
he  gets  a  reasonablj^  satisfactory  top.  Frequently  he  has  to  fore- 
go a  scaffold  branch  at  one  point  and  tram  out  secondary  branches 
from  adjoining  main  branches  to  supply  the  deficiency.  With 
leader  and  modified  leader  trees  the  problem  is  different  but  it  is 
still  one  of  the  arrangement  of  the  main  branches  so  that  they 
may  be  well  developed  and  spaced  about  the  central  shaft. 

Second. — Examine  the  leaders,  particularly  in  the  top  of  the 
tree,  and  shorten  them  in,  if  they  need  it,  as  they  may  if  they  are 
running  high.  In  most  cases  the  side  leaders  may  be  allowed 
to  grow  as  much  as  they  will,  for  at  this  stage  one  wants  to  develop 
a  good  big  tree.  It  is  only  with  such  sprawling  growers  as  the 
Burbank  plum  that  one  needs  to  head  back  the  side  leaders. 


136  PRUNING 

Third. — Look  for  poor  forks  on  ali  the  main  branches.  This 
is  not  quite  so  important  as  the  forks  at  the  main  trunk,  but  it 
is  well  worth  looking  out  for,  especially  with  varieties  which 
tend  to  develop  these  poor  forks  frequently,  and  it  does  not  re- 
quire a  great  amount  of  time. 

Fourth. — Take  out  crossing  branches,  particularly  those 
which  tend  to  grow  back  into  the  centre  of  the  tree  where  they 
do  not  belong.  As  a  rule  these  crossing  branches  may  be  left 
till  the  second  year  without  any  damage,  unless  they  are  very 
vigorous,  and  one  will  find  that  it  requires  much  less  time  to  do 
the  necessary  pruning  if  only  two-year  wood  is  considered.  This 
is  really  a  point  of  a  good  deal  of  practical  importance  where  one 
has  many  trees  to  prune.  With  a  half  dozen  trees  to  look  after 
the  owner  can  afford  to  look  at  every  twig.  AVith  a  half  dozen 
hundred  it  is  a  different  matter. 

Fifth. — Thin  out  the  rest  of  the  top  where  this  may  be 
needed.  Usually  there  is  little  left  to  do  after  the  first  four 
points  have  been  looked  after.  The  writer  is  very  strongly  of 
the  opinion  that  young  trees,  from  two  to  five  or  six  years  of  age, 
should  be  pruned  just  as  little  as  possible  and  still  have  them 
develop  well  formed  heads  and  good  main  branches.  Thinning 
for  the  sake  of  thinning  ought  to  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Sixth. — Never  take  out  the  small  shoots  so  long  as  they  re- 
main healthy.  This  rule  has  few  exceptions.  If  the  top  is  too 
thick  take  out  small  branches  with  their  attached  shoots  but  do 
not  take  the  shoots  alone. 

Bearing  Trees. — The  second  illustrative  pruning  problem  we 
want  to  discuss  is  the  tree  at  bearing  age.  Of  course  this  is 
going  to  vary  greatly  even  with  different  varieties,  and  still  more 
with  different  classes  of  fruits,  and  yet  there  are  a  good  many 
things  which  are  common  to  all  trees.    Here  is  the  program : 

First. — ^Preserve  the  fruit  spurs.  Never  strip  a  branch  of 
small  shoots,  whether  they  are  srmrs  or  not.  This  has  already 
been  discussed  under  the  various  fruits  and  also  under  the  young 
tree  and  it  need  not  be  further  elaborated  here,  but  it  is  of 
crucial  importance. 

Second.— Thm  the  top  uniformly  by  taking  out  relatively 


TIME  TO  PRUNE  137 

small  branches.  It  is  a  very  common  mistake  to  prune  out  too 
large  branches  while  removing  the  same  total  amount  of  wood 
from  the  tree.  This  means  that  in  some  parts  of  the  top  we  have 
made  large  holes  where  there  is  no  wood  whatever,  while  in 
other  parts  the  top  is  as  thick  as  before.  Branches  the  size  of 
a  man's  finger  are  the  ideal  size.  This  kind  of  pruning  requires 
more  work,  in  some  cases  much  more  work,  but  it  is  worth  the 
extra  effort.     And  the  tendency  to  overdo  the  pruning  is  less. 

Third. — Cut  out  dead  or  diseased  or  broken  branches.  This 
needs  no  discussion  except  to  say  that  in  some  diseases,  like  black 
knot  and  canker,  it  is  not  always  possible  to  remove  all  the 
affected  branches.  Sometimes  the  branch  is  of  so  much  impor- 
tance that  it  must  be  cured  if  possible. 

Fourths. — Shorten  back  the  leaders  where  they  are  going 
too  high  or  are  spreading  too  far.  In  doing  this  do  not  leave  a 
straight  stub  but  take  them  back  to  a  side  shoot.  The  importance 
of  keeping  the  trees  down  where  they  can  be  sprayed  and  picked 
and  pruned  easily  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 

Fifth. — Take  out  the  water-sprouts  altogether  where  they  are 
not  needed  and  shorten  them  back  severely  where  they  are 
needed.  In  this  type  of  tree,  the  well-cared-for,  bearing  tree, 
there  are  usually  few  water-sprouts  and  no  need  of  preserving 
them.  But  if  they  are  needed  it  is  merely  to  reclothe  a  branch 
with  bearing  wood  and  they  should  therefore  be  cut  back  each 
year  to  one  or  two  buds.  This  ought  to  gradually  cause  the  for- 
mation of  fruit  spurs.    If  not  they  should  be  taken  out  altogether. 

Sixth. — Cut  out  crossing  branches  or  such  as  tend  to  grow  back 
into  the  tree.  There  are  not  likely  to  be  many  of  these  where 
the  pruning  is  attended  to  yearly,  yet  there  are  always  a  few. 

Seventh. — Thin  the  balance  of  the  top  where  it  is  needed. 
As  with  the  young  tree,  there  is  usually  not  much  left  to  thin 
after  all  the  other  points  are  looked  after. 

Time  to  Prune. — It  remains  to  discuss  briefly  a  few  general 
questions  which  are  sure  to  come  up  where  the  subject  of  pruning 
is  being  discussed.  The  first  of  these  is  the  season  of  the  year 
at  which  pruning  should  be  done.  It  does  not  make  much  differ- 
ence. Summer  and  winter  pruning  have  already  been  discussed, 
^nd  barring  the  difference  brought  out  in  that  discussion;  there  is 


138 


PRUNING 


little  choice  as  to  seasons  so  far  as  the  effect  on  the  tree  is  con- 
cerned. There  is  this  objection  to  autumn  pruning  that  the 
wounds  made  then  have  to  stand  a  long  time  before  they  can 
begin  to  heal,  which  means,  of  course,  that  they  dry  out  and  die 
back  further  than  they  would  if  made  at  any  other  time  of  year. 
And  yet  other  considerations  may  entirely  offset  this  objection. 
For  example,  renovation  pruning  is  frequently  done  in  the  autumn, 
because  the  owner  wants  to  begin  the  fight  on  the  San  Jose  scale, 


Fig.  go. — A  long  stub  left  in  pruning.    Such  a  stub  is  sure  to  decay  before  it  can  heal  over. 

Fig.  67. — An  old  stub  beginning  to  decay.     It  is  impossible  for  such  stubs  to  heal  over 
and  every  one  is  a  menace  to  the  tree. 


and  this  can  not  be  done  to  the  best  advantage  until  the 
dead  and  half -dead  branches  have  all  been  removed.  It  ought  also 
to  be  said  here  that  there  is  no  harm  to  the  tree  from  pruning 
when  the  wood  is  frozen.  It  may  harm  the  primer  but  not  the 
pruned.  There  is  also  probably  little  harm  to  the  tree  from 
bleeding,  though  it  is  best  to  avoid  it  if  possible.  It  produces 
more  favorable  conditions  for  disease  germs  and  possibly  weakens 
the  tree  slightly. 


HOW  TO  PRUNE 


139 


There  are  two  very  strong  reasons  why  pruning  is  usually 
done  during  the  dormant  season,  the  first  being  that  there  is 
usually  more  time  at  that  season  of  the  year,  and  the  second 
that  a  workman  can  judge  better  what  branches  ought  to  be  re- 
moved, because  there  are  no  leaves  to  interfere.  It  will  be  seen, 
therefore,  that  the  time  for  pruning  is  chosen  largely  from  the 
standpoint  of  convenience.  Do  it  when  it  will  best  fit  in  with 
the  other  farm  work. 

How  to  Prune. — The  best  way  to  make  the  cuts  in  pruning 
is  of  far  more .  importance  than  the  time  of  making  them.     To 


Fn  68. 

Fig.  09. 

FiQ.  70. 

m       ^W  ■ 

^H^^I^H    * 

Iw '"*^-                        *'■  « 

P                      :3    V 

^^^m 

^■'                'M 

t                          M 

^K| 

m.^.^.l 

31 

HHI 

FlQ.  68.— A  well-made  wound. 


pit 


1  a  wound  will  heal  over  if 
jrve  the  heart,  wood. 


ne  dressing  ia  used  to 
such  a  wound  will  heal 


Fio.  69. — A  well-made  wound  beginning  to  heal.     With  proper 
over  completely  in  a  few  years. 
Fig.  70. — A  well-made  wound  that  has  entirely  healed  over. 

begin  with,  every  branch  that  is  removed,  whether  it  be  small  or 
large,  ought  to  be  cut  just  as  close  to  the  limb  from  which  it  is 
taken  as  possible  (Fig.  68).  There  is  no  exception  to  this  rule. 
A  large  collection  of  these  wounds  was  made  in  getting  up  an 
exhibition  on  pruning,  for  a  "  better  farming  "  train.  With- 
out any  exception  the  wounds  where  long  stubs  had  been  left 
were  not  healing  well.  Those  that  were  old  enough  had  already 
begun  to  decay  (Fig.  67).  Those  which  had  been  cut  close  were 
healing  nicely.  Some  of  these  wounds  are  shown  in  Figures  68 
and  69.     Cutting  back  close  like  this  is  going  to  enlarge  the 


140  PRUNING 

wound  considerably,  but  do  not  worry  about  that.  Cut  close, 
and  the  tree  will  do  the  rest. 

It  is  also  desirable  to  leave  the  wound  as  smooth  as  possible, 
to  which  end  one  should  not  use  an  axe  but  should  use  a  sharp 
saw.  It  rarely  pays,  however,  in  commercial  work  to  smooth  a 
wound  up  with  a  knife.  Leave  that  for  the  amateur.  Occa- 
sionally, w^hen  the  best  healing  is  very  important  and  when, 
in  some  way,  a  rough  cut  has  been  made,  it  may  be  worth  while 
to  take  a  knife  and  smooth  up  the  edges  along  the  cambium 
layer. 

Dressings  for  Wounds. — All  sorts  of  things  are  used  for  this 
purpose,  from  mixtures  of  clay  and  cow-dung  to  grafting  wax  or 
shellac.  The  ideal  dressing  ought  to  be  durable,  waterproof, 
harmless  to  the  tree,  reasonably  cheap  and  easily  applied.  If  it 
can  be  antiseptic  so  much  the  better.  In  the  writer's  opinion 
there  are  just  two  classes  of  dressings  that  are  worth  using. 
These  are  paints  of  various  kinds  and  the  tar  and  creosote 
mixtures.  For  nearly  aU  wounds,  paint  is  the  best  material  by 
far  and  comes  very  near  to  possessing  all  of  the  desirable  points 
just  enumerated.  It  is  best  to  mix  your  owu  paint  rather  thick, 
using  white  lead  and  raw  linseed  oil.  Also  add  a  little  raw 
sienna,  enough  to  make  the  paint  about  the  color  of  the  bark. 
This  does  not  make  it  any  better  dressing,  but  the  wounds  you 
are  making  will  worry  the  neighbors  less.  This  is  particularly 
important  on  renovation  work  where  many  and  relatively  large 
wounds  will  have  to  be  made.  Tar  or  creosote  are  preferred  on 
large  wounds  simply  because  these  substances  are  better  pre- 
servatives than  paint,  and  the  heartwood  of  the  large  wound  will 
have  to  stand  many  years  before  it  is  completely  healed  over. 
One  reason  why  tar  preserves  better  than  paint  is  because  it 
strikes  in  more  deeply.  It  therefore  damages  the  cambium  layer 
more,  and  for  this  reason,  on  large  wounds  which  it  is  very  de- 
sirable to  have  heal  well,  the  pruner  will  sometimes  tar  the 
center  of  the  wound  and  use  oil  and  lead  paint  around  the  out- 
side over  the  cambium  layer.  This  takes  considerable  time  but  is 
worth  it  in  important  cases.  Pruners  are  sometimes  advised  to 
take  a  paint  pot  into  the  tree  when  pruning  and  paint  the 


QUESTIONS  141 

wounds  at  once.  There  are  two  objections  to  this:  First,  the 
pruning  tools  are  all  that  he  wants  to  be  bothered  with  at  one 
time;  and,  second,  the  wounds  will  take  the  paint  much  better 
if  they  are  allowed  to  dry  out  a  little.  It  is  usually  much  better 
to  delay  the  painting  for  two  or  three  weeks. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Explain  -svliy  tlic  primer  should  imdorstand  how  trees  bear  their  fruit 

2.  Describe  the  method  of  fruit-bearing  of  pear  and  apple  trees. 

3.  What  should  be  the  object  of  the  orchardist  in  pruning  these  trees? 

4.  Describe  the  method  of  fruit-bearing  in  the  peach. 

5.  Give  the  differences  in  pruning  between  the  peach  and  the  apple. 

6.  Compare  the  plum  or  the  cherry  with  the  apple  in  method  of  bearing 

fruit. 

7.  How  would  tlic  pruning  differ? 

8.  How  does  the  quince  differ  from  the  others  in  its  fruit-bearing? 

9.  E.xplain    the   general    relation    between    heavy    pruning    and    vigorous 

gro^vth. 

10.  Why  is  rank  growth  opposed  to  fruit-bearing? 

11.  W'hat  are  the  influences  of  summer  pruning  as  compared  with  winter 

pruning? 

12.  \Miy  should  the  pruning  of  young  trees  differ  from  that  of  old  ones? 

13.  Give  a  list  of  pruning  tools  for  orchard  work. 

14.  What  are  some  of  the  desirable  points  in  a  pruning  saw? 

15.  Describe  the  best  shears  for  orchard  priming. 

16.  Give  specific  directions  for  the  pruning  of  young  trees  for  the  first  few 

years. 

17.  Discuss  the  problems  involved  in  pruning  trees  of  bearing  age. 

18.  Give  cautions  and  directions  regarding  the  pruning  operations. 

19.  How  should  wounds  be  dressed?     Why  is  this  done? 

20.  Have  you  seen  old  orchards  that  were  not  properly  pruned?     ^Vhat 

was  the  effect  of  such  neglect  ? 


CHAPTER  XI 
ORCHARD  INSECTS 

It  is  not  expected  that  this  chapter  will  include,  by  any 
means,  all  of  the  insects  with  which  the  orchard  owner  is  likely 
to  have  dealings.  To  do  that  would  require  a  volume  in  itself. 
An  endeavor  has  been  made  to  select  merely  those  insects  which 
experience  and  observation  have  shown  were  almost  certain  to  be 
commercially  important  to  the  man  who  grows  an  orchard.  And 
they  have  been  treated  in  the  briefest  possible  way  and  princi- 
pally from  the  standpoint  of  fighting  them  in  the  orchard,  only 
enough  of  their  life  history  being  included  to  give  a  key  to  the 
most  effective  line  of  treatment. 

Following  the  custom  of  almost  every  one  who  writes  on  this 
subject,  the  writer  wishes  to  lay  down  certain  general  principles, 
a  knowledge  of  which  ought  to  enable  the  orchardist  to  select, 
with  a  fair  degree  of  certainty,  the  remedies  that  should  be  most 
successful.  Of  course  the  details  will  vary  slightly  with  each  case, 
but  it  should  be  possible  for  anyone  to  select  the  general  line  of 
attack. 

The  first  general  rule  is  that  if  an  insect  actually  devours  the 
tissues  of  the  plant,  so  that  anyone  can  see  very  evidently  where 
it  has  been  at  work  and  that  some  of  the  tissue  has  disappeared, 
then  the  cheapest  and  best  remedy  is  some  kind  of  poison  applied 
to  that  part  of  the  plant  where  the  insect  is  feeding.  In  other 
words,  it  is  cheaper  to  poison  an  insect  by  means  of  the  food  it 
eats  than  it  is  to  kill  it  in  any  other  way;  but  you  are  able  to 
kill  it  in  this  way  only  when  it  chews  off  a  piece  of  the  leaf  or 
fruit  and  swallows  it. 

Take  the  tent-caterpillar  as  an  example  of  this  class  of  in- 
sects. Almost  every  one  is  familiar  with  its  work.  The  tree 
attacked  looks  more  and  more  ragged  as  its  leaves  are  eaten 
until  finally  it  may  be  entirely  stripped  of  foliage.  It  ought  to 
be  evident  to  anyone  that  these  insects  are  devouring  the  plant 
tissues  and  can  be  killed  through  their  food.  Some  sort  of  poison 
142 


INSECTS  OF  THE  APHIS  TYPE  I43 

is  used  to  kill  them,  such  as  Paris  green  or  arsenate  of  lead,  and 
not  such  a  substance  as  lime,  or  sulfur  or  copper  sulfate. 

If  a  man  were  attempting  to  poison  a  skunk  or  a  weasel  that 
was  killing  his  chickens  he  would  not  expect  to  do  it  by  putting 
out  a  bait  covered  with  sulfur,  but  would  use  some  form  of 
strychnine  or  arsenic.  Precisely  the  same  rule  holds  with 
insects.  They  are  merely  smaller  animals.  They  take  the  poison 
along  with  the  plant  tissue  into  the  stomach  and  are  killed. 

Now  contrast  with  this  the  aphis,  which  is  a  conspicuous 
example  of  an  altogether  different  type  of  insects.  Most  orchard 
owners  are  entirely  too  familiar  with  the  way  this  insect  works. 
If  the  owner  is  on  the  watch  for  it  he  sees  first  a  few  little  green 
or  black  lice  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaf,  or  even  on  the  opening 
bud,  waiting  for  the  leaf  to  appear.  These  increase  rapidly  in 
number  and  the  leaf  begins  to  curl  up  because  the  under  sur- 
face, where  the  insects  are  sucking  the  sap  of  the  leaf,  is  thereby 
retarded  in  its  growth,  while  the  upper  surface,  being  less 
affected,  continues  to  grow  normally  or  nearly  so.  But  the  leaf, 
while  it  is  distorted,  does  not  disappear.  It  is  all  there  except  the 
juice  and  no  amount  of  poison  applied  to  it  will  have  any  effect 
on  the  apliis.  It  would  be  exactly  as  reasonable  to  expect  to  kill 
a  mosquito,  by  putting  Paris  green  on  one 's  hand,  as  to  destroy 
the  aphis  with  such  a  poison.  The  beak  of  either  insect  would 
be  pushed  through  the  layer  of  poison  and  into  the  tissues  on 
which  it  wished  to  feed  and  it  would  draw  in  the  blood  of  the 
man  or  the  sap  of  the  plant  without  any  poison  whatever. 

Insects  of  the  aphis  type  have  to  be  attacked  in  an  entirely 
different  manner.  And  it  is  a  much  more  expensive  method. 
They  must  be  treated  with  some  substance  which  will  either  stop 
up  the  pores  along  the  sides  of  the  abdomen  through  which  the 
insect  breathes  or  else  (either  by  entering  those  pores  or  by  work- 
ing on  the  surface  of  the  insect)  will  corrode  the  tissues  and 
destroy  the  insect.  Soapy  substances  work  in  the  former  manner, 
while  the  oils  and  similar  substances  actually  attack  the  tissues. 

These  may  seem  like  very  simple  statements  and  so  they  are. 
But  they  are  fundamental  and  are  inserted  here  because  so  often 
they  are  not  understood.    Indeed,  at  meetings  of  fruit  growers 


144  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

one  often  hears  some  intelligent  orchard  man  recommend  the  use 
of  Bordeaux  mixture  for  the  tent-caterpillar,  or  condemn  arsenate 
of  lead  because  it  did  not  kill  the  aphis. 

APPLE  INSECTS 

The  following  list  comprises  those  insects  which  the  apple 
grower  has  to  reckon  with  year  in  and  year  out.  Of  course 
they  do  not  all  come  in  any  one  season,  but  he  has  to  be  on  the 
watch  for  them,  and  when  they  do  come  they  make  serious 
trouble.  They  are  arranged  roughly  in  the  order  of  their  im- 
portance, though  seasons,  localities  and  even  varieties  influence 
this  point. 

The  San  Jose  scale  and  the  codling  moth  are  rivals  for  first 
place  on  the  list  of  the  apple  grower's  insect  troubles.  Either 
one  is  bad  enough  but  the  scale  is  considered  first  because  of  its 
ability  in  actually  killing  the  trees.  In  its  damage  to  the  fruit 
itself  the  codling  moth  is  far  in  the  lead,  for  a  wormy  apple  is 
seriously  damaged,  while  the  apple  with  scale  on  it  is  not  hurt 
much  for  cooking  and  even  for  eating  raw,  a  few  scales  will  not 
particularly  affect  the  flavor. 

There  are  three  things  which  make  the  scale  an  insect  specially 
dreaded  by  the  orchardist. 

Inconspicuous. — The  first  of  these  is  its  inconspicuous  char- 
acter. Unless  the  owner  is  very  familiar  with  it,  the  first  notice 
he  has  of  its  presence  on  the  tree  may  be  the  dying  of  some  of 
the  branches.  An  insect  which  is  spectacular  in  its  attack,  such 
as  the  tent-caterpillar  or  the  fall  web-worm,  has  little  chance  of 
escaping  notice.  But  the  San  Jose  scale  is  so  small,  and  looks  so 
much  like  the  bark  of  the  tree,  that  even  one  who  is  entirely 
familiar  with  it  may  go  by  an  affected  tree  day  after  day  and 
never  notice  it.  The  writer  confesses  with  chagrin  that  he  has 
proved  this  point  in  his  own  garden. 

Breeds  Rapidly. — The  second  difficulty  in  combating  the 
scale  is  the  fact  that  it  breeds  continuously  and  rapidly  through- 
out the  season.  Beginning  some  time  in  the  late  spring  or  early 
summer,  at  a  date  varying  with  the  locality,  the  young  scales  are 


SAN  JOSE  SCALE  145 

produced  up  to  late  autumn.  And  they  are  produced  with  sur- 
prising rapidity.  Investigations  have  shown  that  so  rapidly  are 
the  young  produced  and  so  quickly  do  they  reach  maturity,  that 
starting  with  a  single  female  in  the  spring  we  might  reasonably 
expect  that  by  the  close  of  the  breeding  season  there  would  be  a 
family  of  something  like  a  billion,  if  there  were  no  accidents. 
Fortunately  there  are  many  accidents,  but,  even  so,  the  rate  of 
increase  is  tremendous.  This  "  continuous  performance  "  in 
production  means  that  while  the  grower  may  clean  up  the  trees 
in  the  early  spring  and  have  relatively  few  live  scales,  yet  if  he 
leaves  any  at  all,  he  may  expect  that  by  autumn  the  trees  will 
be  in  bad  shape  again. 

Attacks  Many  Kinds  of  riants. — The  third  difficulty  in  keep- 
ing the  scale  down  comes  from  the  fact  that  it  feeds  on  so  many 
different  trees  and  shrubs.  The  orchardist  may  get  it  out  of 
his  apple  trees,  but  an  adjoining  currant  patch  or  some  Japanese 
quinces  or  thorn  trees  or  dog-woods  on  a  neighbor's  lawn,  or 
even  willow  trees  along  the  brook,  may  furnish  a  new  source  of 
supply.    It  is  therefore  a  constant  fight  in  a  scale  neighborhood. 

Hard  to  Recognize. — The  first  point  in  this  fight  is  to  learn 
to  recognize  the  pest.  The  easiest  way  to  do  this  with  apple 
trees  is  to  watch  the  young  apples  as  they  develop.  The  young 
scales  seem  to  be  particularly  partial  to  the  fruit  and  are  espe- 
cially conspicuous  on  it,  so  that  if  there  are  any  great  number  of 
scales  on  the  trees  one  is  sure  to  find  them  sooner  or  later  on 
the  apples.  They  usually  collect  at  the  blossom  or  calyx  end  of 
the  fruit,  and  frequently,  though  not  always,  produce  a  bright 
red  spot,  the  scales  themselves  varying  in  color  from  nearly 
white  on  through  gray  to  practically  black.  One  will  therefore 
find  a  white,  gray  or  black  central  speck  surrounded  by  a  bright 
red  ring.  The  scale  itself  is  easily  scraped  off,  leaving  the  red 
ring  with  a  light  center.  On  the  twigs  and  branches  the  appear- 
ance is  frequently  described  as  resembling  ashes  thrown  upon 
the  tree,  and  this  is  as  good  a  description  as  can  be  given.  The 
bark  will  be  roughened,  and  on  scraping  it  with  the  thumb  nail 
or  the  back  of  a  jack-knife  a  wet,  yellowish  streak  is  produced 
by  the  crushing  of  the  insects.  Also  if  the  observer  cuts  into 
10 


146  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

the  twig,  the  inner  bark,  which  is  normally  green,  will  be  found 
to  be  stained  red. 

Remedies. — In  fighting  this  insect  the  two  standard  remedies, 
at  the  present  time,  are  the  lime-sulfur  washes  and  the  miscible, 
or  so-called  "soluble,"  oils,  which  are  fully  described  in 
Chapter  XIV.  Many  other  things  are  used,  and  doubtless 
new  remedies  will  be  constantly  put  upon  the  market,  but  these 
two  have  stood  the  test  of  time  and  seem  likely  to  stand  it  for 
some  time  to  come.  It  is  usually  not  possible  to  keep  the  scale 
entirely  under  control  particularly  in  sections  where  there  are 
some  neglected  orchards,  without  giving  two  sprayings  per  year. 
Not  being  able  to  decide  which  of  the  above  remedies  is  the 
better,  the  writer  has  developed  the  plan  of  using  oil  in  the 
autumn,  as  soon  as  the  leaves  are  off  the  trees,  and  lime-sulfur 
in  the  spring  just  before  the  buds  break,  when  he  has  a  bad 
attack  of  the  scale  to  combat.  The  bulk  of  the  insects  are  thus 
killed  by  the  autumn  treatment  while  many  of  them  are  young 
and  less  resistant,  and  one  gets  the  advantage  of  the  "creeping" 
of  the  oil.  Also  the  operation  is  less  disagreeable,  which  is  worth 
considering.  And  lastly,  the  tree  does  not  have  to  exhaust  itself 
by  supporting  all  these  insects  over  winter.  Then  by  using  the 
lime-sulfur  in  the  spring,  the  orchardist  not  only  kills  what 
scales  were  left  but  also  gets  the  advantage  of  the  fungicidal 
effect  of  the  wash.  When  the  orchard  is  less  seriously  attacked 
it  may  be  better  to  u>se  lime-sulfur  in  tlie  autumn  or  it  may  even 
be  omitted  and  the  spring  application  relied  upon  to  keep  this 
part  under  control. 

Thorough  Spraying. — The  one  fundamental  thing  in  the  ap- 
plication of  insecticides  for  scale  is  thoroughness.  Keep  everlast- 
ingly after  the  men  who  are  doing  the  work  and  insist  on  their 
reaching  every  part  of  the  trees.  This  is  more  important  with 
scale  than  with  any  other  insect,  though  it  is  always  of  im- 
portance. Take  the  codling  moth  for  example.  Suppose  the 
orchardist  sprays  only  half  of  the  apples — he  has  protected  those, 
at  least  in  a  section  like  New  England  where  there  is  but  one 
brood.  But  if  he  is  going  to  hit  only  half  of  the  apples  in  fighting 
scale,  he  might  better  save  his  time  and  money,  and  go  to  a  ball 
game,  for  both  will  be  absolutely  thrown  away  on  this  spraying. 


CODLING  MOTH  147 

The  scales  will  continue  to  breed  on  the  unsprayed  areas  and 
will  soon  reinfest  the  whole  tree. 

Perhaps  a  little  experience  may  be  worth  relating  here,  as  it 
serves  to  show  just  where  a  grower  is  likely  to  get  into  trouble. 
It  was  in  spraying  for  scale  on  some  old  apple  trees  at  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  College.  These  trees  had  been  used 
for  years  for  testing  new,  and  for  the  most  part  worthless,  sprays 
for  scale.  Many  of  the  trees  had  become  completely  covered 
with  scale  and  were  dying  rapidly,  and  though  they  were  not 
very  valuable  in  themselves,  they  were  a  constant  menace  to 
other  trees  that  were  valuable.  It  did  not  look  well  for  the 
college  to  have  such  a  disreputable  orchard  around,  even  for 
experimental  purposes.  So  it  was  decided  to  clean  it  up.  It  was 
sprayed  as  here  outlined,  oil  in  the  autumn  and  lime-sulfur  in 
the  spring,  and  the  work  was  done  with  a  reasonable  degree  of 
thoroughness.  The  next  season  tlie  trees  were  examined  from 
time  to  time  through  the  summer,  and  at  first  everything  looked 
well,  and  we  said,  "What  a  fine  thing  it  was  to  get  those  old  trees 
cleaned  up."  But  gradually  we  began  to  see  a  few  scales,  and 
then  more  and  more,  till  finally  we  were  back  about  where  we 
started.  Too  many  of  the  tips  of  the  branches  had  been  missed 
in  spraying.  The  next  year  the  same  program  was  followed, 
only  these  tips  were  looked  after,  and  out  of  thirty  trees  that 
were  literally  alive  with  scale  only  two  or  three  were  found 
that  had  any  scale  at  all,  and  these  had  very  few  indeed. 

Some  Varieties  Injured  more  than  Others. — A  point  worth 
mentioning  in  this  connection  is  the  varying  degree  to  which  dif- 
ferent varieties  are  injured  by  the  scale.  Any  neglected  orchard 
that  is  suffering  from  scale  will  show  this.  Rhode  Island  Green- 
ing trees  will  be  found  half-dead,  while  Kings  and  Baldwins, 
under  the  same  conditions,  are  in  fairly  good  condition. 

Codling  Moth. — This  is  the  insect  that  is  responsible  for 
the  wormy  apple,  and  no  one  can  visit  our  markets  without 
having  it  borne  in  upon  him  what  a  fearful  responsibility  it  is. 
Simple  as  the  treatment  for  this  insect  is,  and  long  as  the  life 
history  has  been  well  understood,  the  pest  is  still  allowed  to  do  a 
tremendous  amount  of  damage. 


148  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

The  moth  itself  is  small  and  inconspicuous  and  is  seldom 
seen  by  the  orchard  man.  It  deposits  its  eggs  sometimes  on  the 
fruit  but  more  often  on  adjoining  leaves  or  even  on  the  bark 
of  twigs  and  branches,  where  they  hatch  in  a  short  time  and  the 
little  "worms,"  or  larvae,  soon  attack  the  young  apples,  in  most 
cases  entering  at  the  blossom  end.  Once  inside  the  apple,  they 
feed  for  about  a  month,  principally  on  the  inside  (but  occasion- 
ally working  on  the  surface).  "When  it  has  reached  full  size  the 
larva  emerges  and  forms  its  cocoon  usually  in  a  crevice  in  the 
bark.  From  this  point  the  life  history  varies  with  different 
parts  of  the  country.  In  most  of  New  England  there  is  only  a 
partial  second  brood,  that  is  most  of  them  pass  the  winter  in 
the  cocoon  stage.  A  few  pass  through  this  stage  and  emerge 
as  moths  which  deposit  their  eggs,  producing  the  second  brood 
of  "worms."  The  future  histoiy  is  practically  the  same  as 
before,  except  that  the  later  broods  of  the  season  do  more  feeding 
on  the  surface  of  the  apples,  especially  where  two  apples  hang 
together  or  wiiere  a  leaf  rests  upon  an  apple. 

In  States  farther  south  there  are  two  or  more  complete 
broods  in  a  season. 

The  all-important  remedy  in  fighting  the  codling  moth  is 
spraying  with  poison,  and  usually  it  is  the  only  remedy  at- 
tempted. In  sections  where  the  codling  moth  is  very  trouble- 
same  the  following  additional  methods  are  practised: 

First,  the  rough  bark  is  scraped  from  the  trees  to  reduce 
the  number  of  hiding  places  for  the  larva?  when  they  emerge. 

Second,  bands  of  burlap  are  put  about  the  trees  as  traps 
under  which  the  larvre  will  spin  their  cocoons.  These  bands  are 
removed  from  time  to  time  and  the  insects  which  are  found  under 
them  are  killed. 

Third,  the  windows  of  storage  houses  are  kept  screened  so 
as  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  moths  which  may  have  passed 
the  winter  as  larvae  in  barrels  or  elsewhere. 

But,  as  before  suggested,  the  all-important  method  of  con- 
trol is  spraying  with  a  poison.  Authorities  differ  as  to  just  the 
type  of  spray  that  is  best.  Many  western  experimenters  insist 
on  a  coarse,  forcible  spray  which  shall  force  the  poison  into  the 


APHIS  149 

calyx  Clip.  Others  believe  in  a  fine,  mist-like  spray  which  shall 
reach  all  parts  of  the  tree.  This  is  the  type  of  spray  which 
is  most  ill  favor.  All  agree  that  the  spra^diig  should  be  very 
thorough  and  that  it  is  best  to  make  the  first  spraying  within  a 
week  or  ten  days  after  the  petals  fall  from  the  blossoms,  using 
3  pounds  arsenate  of  lead  paste  or  one  and  one-half  pounds  of 
the  powdered  form  to  50  gallons  of  water.  A  second  spraying 
is  usually  made  three  or  four  weeks  later.  In  sections  where 
several  broods  are  produced  it  is  necessary  even  to  spray  three 
or  four  times  for  this  insect. 

Avoid  Spraying  When  Trees  Are  in  Bloom. — Another  im- 
portant point  is  the  desirability  of  avoiding  spraying  while  the 
trees  are  in  bloom.  Authorities  ditl'er  as  to  just  how  serious 
a  matter  it  is,  but  there  seems  to  be  considerable  evidence  to 
shcnv  that  the  bees  may  be  killed  by  such  a  spray.  It  is  also 
probable  that  the  pistils  may  be  injured  if  the  spraying  is  done 
just  when  they  are  in  the  most  tender  condition,  which  is  when 
the  trees  are  in  "  full  bloom,"  In  any  event  there  seems  to  be 
nothing  gained  by  spraying  when  trees  are  in  bloom,  over  spray- 
ing just  after  the  petals  fall.  It  is  certainly  worth  while  to 
avoid  any  chance  of  injuring  either  the  bees  or  the  blossoms. 

Aphis. —  This  is  the  most  discouraging  group  to  fight,  of  all 
the  "bugs,"  So  far  as  winning  the  fight  is  concerned  the 
writer  had  far  sooner  tackle  the  San  Jose  scale.  AVith  the  latter 
there  is  a  well-defined  course  of  treatment,  and  if  one  follows 
this  carefully  there  is  no  question  about  success.  With  the  aphis 
one  never  knows  quite  what  to  do,  and  when  the  best  possible 
has  been  done,  the  result  usually  leaves  much  to  be  desired. 

The  life  history  of  the  aphis  is  as  follows :  It  passes  the 
winter  in  the  e^^  state  and  these  eggs  will  be  found  as  little, 
shiny  black  objects  looking  much  like  weed  seeds,  clustered 
about  the  buds  on  last  year's  gro\\i;h.  They  hatch  very  early  in 
the  spring,  usually  before  the  buds  open,  into  little,  dark  green, 
almost  black,  lice  which  will  be  found  on  the  expanding  buds, 
and,  later,  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves.  The  leaves  soon  curl 
up  and  protect  the  insects  almost  perfectly.  The  later  genera- 
tions of  the  young  are  produced  alive,  and  as  it  requires  but 


150  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

a  few  days  to  reach  maturity  and  as  each  adult  female  will 
produce  several  young  in  a  day,  they  increase  with  great  rapidity. 
This  makes  their  control  a  serious  matter. 

Control. — Now,  what  shall  be  done  to  check  this  insect? 
As  already  suggested,  in  the  general  discussion,  this  is  a  sucking 
insect  and  must  be  killed  by  a  contact  poison;  that  is  every 
insect  must  he  hit  to  le  killed.  "When  we  remember  how  well 
they  are  protected  and  how  rapidly  they  increase,  the  difficulty 
of  controlling  them  may  be  realized.  It  is  realized  still  more 
fully  after  we  have  tried  to  fight  them.  Nothing  but  the 
most  thorough  treatment  will  be  effective,  for  if  only  a  few 
individuals  are  left  after  a  spraying  they  will  increase  so 
rapidly  that  in  a  very  few  days  things  are  as  bad  as  ever. 

The  best  time  to  fight  the  aphis  is  in  the  early  stages,  as  soon 
as  possible  after  it  hatches.  If  some  treatment  could  be  devised 
to  destroy  the  eggs  in  winter,  that  would  be  the  ideal  method. 
It  has  often  been  suggested  that  the  winter  spraying  with  oil  or 
lime-sulfur  might  be  effective,  but  there  is  much  doubt  in  regard 
to  this.  Orchards  which  had  been  sprayed  every  year  for  four 
years  with  oil  and  lime-sulfur  were  as  badly  infected  with  aphis 
as  the  most  neglected  orchard  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  best  treatment  seems  to  be  to  delay  the  spring  applica- 
tion of  lime-sulfur  (using  it  at  the  rate  of  one  gallon  to  about 
eight  or  nine  of  water)  until  just  as  the  buds  are  breaking  and 
after  the  aphids  have  hatched.  If  the  right  time  can  be  selected 
after  all  the  aphids  are  hatched  and  before  the  leaves  are  out 
enough  to  be  damaged  or  to  allow  the  aphids  to  crawl  in  among 
them  and  thus  be  protected,  and  if  the  work  is  done  thoroughly 
enough  to  destroy  this  first  generation,  then  there  will  be  no 
future  generations.  Later  treatment,  when  needed,  must  con- 
sist in  using  some  one  of  the  contact  sprays,  either  as  a  separate 
spray  or  combined  with  the  arsenical  sprays  which  are  given  for 
codling  moth.  On  the  Pacific  coast,  where  these  insects  are 
troublesome  and  where  there  is  a  form  which  does  not  curl  the 
leaves,  it  is  the  usual  custom  to  combine  a  tobacco  preparation 
with  the  poison  and  the  fungicide  of  the  regular  sprayings  and 
thus  kill  both  types  of  insects  and  the  fungous  diseases. 


BUD  MOTH  151 

But  when  all  is  said  and  done,  the  aphis  is  still  a  very 
difficult  insect  to  control  and  it  is  fortunate  that  bad  outbreaks 
of  it  do  not  occur  more  frequently. 

Curculio. — Both  the  plum  and  the  apple  curculios  work  on 
the  apple,  but  the  former  is  a  far  more  serious  pest.  They  are 
both  "snout"  beetles,  but  the  plum  curculio  is  of  a  dark, 
brownish-gray  color  and  has  a  short  snout,  while  the  apple 
curculio  is  reddish-brown  and  has  a  long,  slender  snout.  For 
present  purposes,  however,  they  may  be  considered  together. 

Life  History. — They  hibernate  as  adult  insects  in  the  grass 
or  trash  about  the  orchard  and  emerge  in  the  spring  about 
the  time  that  the  trees  bloom.  They  feed  for  a  time  on  the  buds, 
leaves  and  even  blossoms,  but  soon  attack  the  fruit,  and  the  fe- 
males begin  laying  eggs  in  small  punctures  in  the  skin  of  the 
young  apples,  the  plum  curculio  cutting,  in  addition,  a  crescent- 
shaped  incision  above  the  incision  where  the  egg  is  deposited.  On 
apples  most  of  the  eggs  do  not  develop  and  the  damage  results 
from  the  scars,  which  cause  the  fruit  to  become  misshapen  and 
unsalable.  With  plums  and  peaches  the  larviB  usually  do  develop 
and  produce  the  white  "worms''  of  the  fruit,  all  too  common  in 
many  orchards. 

The  most  effective  treatment  for  the  curculio  is  spraying 
with  arsenate  of  lead,  using  3  pounds  of  the  paste  or  one  and 
one-half  pounds  of  the  powder  to  50  gallons  of  water  before  the 
blossoms  open,  and  a  second  application  of  the  same  materials 
within  a  week  after  the  petals  fall  from  the  blossoms.  This  latter 
is  the  same  spray  which  is  most  important  for  the  codling  moth, 
so  that  one  kind  of  treatment  will  control  these  two  serious  pests. 

Bud  Moth. — This  is  a  verj^  interesting  insect  from  the 
standpoint  of  its  life  history,  which  is  quite  unusual.  The  egg 
hatches  in  the  summer  and  the  little  "worm"  is  dark  brown 
with  a  shiny  ])lack  head.  It  grows  to  perhaps  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  in  length  and  then  prepares  a  little  nest  for  the  winter. 
This  little  nest  or  burrow  is  usually  located  in  some  crevice  of 
the  bark  near  a  bud,  and  considerable  experience  is  necessary 
to  find  it,  as  it  is  veiy  difficult  to  detect.  About  the  only  indica- 
tion of  its  whereabouts  is  a  bit  of  leaf,  or  a  small  scale  of  bark, 


152  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

attached  to  the  branch.  On  poking  about  with  a  pin,  however, 
the  searcher  will  find  a  little  web  and  soon  is  rewarded  by  find- 
ing the  little  silk-lined  tunnel  and  in  it  the  little  ' '  worm. ' ' 

As  soon  as  the  weather  begins  to  warm  up  in  the  spring,  and 
the  buds  begin  to  break,  this  little  fellow  crawls  out  of  his  winter 
quarters  and  establishes  himself  in  the  centre  of  the  expanding 
cluster  of  leaves  and  blossoms  from  some  terminal  bud.  Here  he 
develops,  feeding  on  the  leaves  and  blossoms  and  drawing  them 
together  in  a  rather  compact  bunch  by  fastening  the  ends  together 
with  silk  threads. 

Spraying.- — Once  the  larva  gets  inside  this  cluster  it  is 
perfectly  safe.  No  amount  of  spraying  can  touch  it,  as  it  feeds 
on  the  inside.  The  only  time  when  it  is  feasible  to  attack  this 
enemy  is  when  it  goes  from  its  winter  quarters  to  the  opening 
buds  and  leaves.  The  larva  eats  its  way  into  this  cluster  of 
leaves,  and  if  the  trees  can  be  sprayed  just  before  it  crawls  from 
Avinter  quarters  it  can  be  poisoned.  But  the  poison  must  be 
strong.  Five  to  ten  pounds  of  arsenate  of  lead  paste  or  half 
that  amount  of  the  powder  to  fifty  gallons  of  water  will  be  none 
too  strong.  And  the  spraying  must  be  thorough;  every  bud- 
cluster  must  be  reached. 

The  amount  of  damage  which  this  insect  does  in  some  seasons 
is  very  great,  but  the  insect  is  so  inconspicuous  that  its  presence 
is  usually  not  even  suspected.  Practically  the  entire  crop  of 
certain  varieties  is  sometimes  destroyed  by  the  bud  moth  and 
the  loss  attributed  by  the  growers  to  unfavorable  weather  ai 
blossoming  time. 

Canker  Worm. — There  are  two  types  of  canker  worm,  differ- 
ing principally  in  the  fact  that  in  one  case  the  eggs  are  laid  in 
the  autumn  and  in  the  other  case  in  the  spring.  In  both  types 
the  insect  pupates  in  the  soil  and  the  wingless  adult  females  crawl 
up  the  trunk  of  the  tree  and  deposit  their  eggs  in  clusters  or 
sheets  upon  the  branches.  Here  they  hatch  about  the  time  the 
leaves  are  well  expanded  into  small  "measuring- worms"  and 
begin  feeding. 

Their  presence  can  usually  be  detected  by  shaking  the 
branches  of  the  trees,  when  each  little  "worm"  will  drop  from 


TENT-CATERPILLAR  153 

the  leaves  and  hang  by  a  thread.  Another  good  method  is  to  go 
under  the  trees  and  look  up  through  the  tops,  when  the  small 
holes  eaten  out  where  the  little  larv£e  have  been  feeding  will 
be  readily  seen. 

Ordinarily  canker  worms  are  not  troublesome,  frequently  they 
will  not  be  seen  for  years,  but  when  they  do  come  in  force,  look 
out  for  trouble.  It  will  require  sharp,  efficient  work  to  keep 
them  in  check. 

Methods  of  Conibating. — There  are  two  principal  ways  in 
which  these  insects  may  be  combated.  The  best  way,  by  all 
odds,  because  it  fits  in  with  the  fight  against  other  insects,  is 
to  spray  with  arsenate  of  lead  or  some  such  poison.  Usually 
the  spraying  for  codling  moth  will  attend  to  the  canker  worms 
as  well.  And  yet  instances  are  seen  where  the  most  energetic 
and  up-to-date  orchard  men  have  been  literally  swamped  by  a 
bad  outbreak  of  this  pest. 

Where,  for  any  reason,  one  expects  such  an  especially  severe 
attack  from  them,  it  is  well  to  band  the  trees  with  some  sticky 
substance  to  catch  the  wingless  female  insects  as  they  crawl  up 
the  trunk.  If  no  crack  is  left  underneath  the  band  through 
which  the  female  can  make  her  way,  and  if  the  bands  are  kept 
sticky  for  a  long  enough  time,  the  method  is  decidedly  effective. 
For  the  fall  canker  worm  October  and  November,  and  for  the 
spring  species  IMarch  and  April,  are  likely  to  be  the  months 
during  which  the  females  move  up  the  trunk. 

In  this  connection  it  is  worth  calling  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  stirring  of  the  soil  in  cultivated  orchards  makes  it 
difficult  for  canker  worms  to  pupate  with  any  degree  of  com- 
fort and  security. 

Tent-caterpillar. — Tliis  is  a  leaf-eating  caterpillar  of  the 
"first  magnitude."  A  few  nests  of  them  in  an  apple  tree  will 
strip  it  of  leaves  about  as  completely  as  the  cold  of  winter  can. 

The  eggs  are  laid  in  the  summer  in  curious  bands  which  may 
be  discovered  about  the  twigs  during  the  winter  when  the  leaves 
are  off.  These  eggs  hatch  with  the  first  warm  days  of  spring  and 
the  little  bits  of  black,  hairy  caterpillars  may  be  found  clustered 
about  the  expanding  buds  in  the  vicinity,  waiting  for  the  leaves 


154  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

to  come  out  to  give  them  a  "square  meal."  Getting  such  an 
early  start  as  they  do  and  being  provided  with  an  insatiable 
appetite,  they  come  very  near  to  keeping  up  with  the  leaves 
when  there  is  a  bad  attack  of  them.  This  makes  it  necessary  to 
use  drastic  measures  with  them  when  they  once  get  a  start  in  an 
orchard.    Few  insects  can  make  an  apple  tree  look  more  desolate. 

Remedy. — Where  trees  are  attacked  badly  by  this  insect  it 
will  usually  be  necessary  to  give  a  special  spraying  with  arsenate 
of  lead  before  the  blossoms  open,  else  they  may  get  so  large 
that  it  will  be  difficult  to  kill  them  with  any  ordinary  dose.  If 
they  have  been  allowed  to  get  a  start  in  the  orchard  it  is  simply 
a  question  of  using  poison  strong  enough  and  they  can  be  killed. 
Four  to  six  pounds  of  arsenate  of  lead  paste  to  fifty  gallons  of 
water  will  be  found  none  too  strong.  It  is  also  worth  noting 
that  where  orchards  are  sprayed  while  dormant  with  lime-sulfur 
at  the  usual  strength  there  is  generallv  no  trouble  from  the 
tent-catei-pillar  as  the  eggs  are  usually  all  destroyed. 

The  Railroad  Worm  or  Apple  Maggot. — There  is  not  much 
satisfaction  in  discussing  this  insect  because,  up  to  date,  there 
has  been  so  little  discovered  that  can  be  done  for  it. 

Life  nistory  and  Habits. — The  adult  insect  is  a  little  fly 
which  deposits  its  eggs  just  under  the  skin  of  the  apple.  This 
egg-laying  is  likely  to  occur  at  any  time  during  the  summer  and 
on  hatching  the  little  maggot  burrows  through  the  flesh  of  the 
apple.  If  there  are  several  maggots  in  one  apple  the  fruit  may 
be  completely  riddled.  An  affected  apple  has  a  peculiar  pitted 
appearance  on  the  outside,  the  sunken  areas  being  of  a  different 
color  from  the  balance  of  the  surface.  On  cutting  open  the  apple 
the  flesh  will  be  found  to  be  a  net-work  of  little  tunnels.  The 
first  tunnels  made  by  the  little  worm  after  hatching,  usually 
close  up  and  appear  merely  as  little  hard  threads  running 
through  the  flesh.  The  later  tunnels  remain  open.  An  apple 
attacked  by  this  insect  is  practically  worthless  as  human  food, 
but  may  be  fed  to  stock. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  apple  maggot  seems  to  have  very 
decided  preferences  for  certain  varieties.  In  a  general  way 
those  varieties  which  are  soft  in  flesh  and  mild  in  flavor  seem 


BORERS  155 

to  be  especially  acceptable  to  it.  Such  varieties  as  Ilubbard- 
ston,  Porter  and  Tolman  Sweet  may  be  badly  attacked,  while 
adjoining  trees  of  other  varieties  are  little  injured. 

Destroy  the  Wind-falls. — About  the  only  generally  accepted 
thing  to  do  for  this  pest  is  to  destroy  the  wind-fall  apples.  It 
one  has  any  number  of  trees  and  attempts  to  do  this  by  hand  it  is 
a  good-sized  contract.  But  if  it  can  be  arranged  to  run  hogs  or 
sheep  in  the  orchard  they  will  effectually  clean  up  the  wind- 
falls. The  one  objection  to  these  animals  in  the  orchard  is  that 
they  do  not  always  wait  for  the  apple  to  drop  before  they  eat  it, 
and  they  are  likely  to  clean  up  not  only  apples  but  leaves  on 
low-hanging  branches.  In  many  old  orchards,  however,  where 
there  are  no  branches  near  the  ground  this  objection  does  not 
apply.  Hogs  are  especially  adapted  to  this  purpose.  They 
not  only  dispose  of  the  drop  apples,  but  by  their  rooting  they 
furnish  a  good  substitute  for  cultivation  and  their  droppings 
will  enrich  the  soil.  They  are  particularly  good  in  old  orchards 
on  lands  too  steep  and  rocky  to  be  cultivated.  Occasionally  they 
make  some  trouble  by  barking  the  trunks  and  branches,  but  this 
does  not  often  happen  if  they  are  kept  well  watered  and  fed. 

Effect  of  Spraying. — The  one  other  hopeful  suggestion  in 
connection  with  this  insect  is  that  it  seems  to  do  relatively  little 
damage  in  orchards  which  are  well  sprayed.  Some  of  the  most 
recent  experiments  seem  to  show  that  it  is  possible  to  do  some 
special  spraying  for  it,  using  some  poison  combined  with  molasses 
to  make  a  sweet  poison  which,  when  sprayed  upon  the  leaves, 
attracts  and  kills  the  adult  tiies  in  the  same  way  that  poison 
Hy-paper  kills  our  house  tiies.  Results  have  been  conflicting,  but 
in  some  cases  this  treatment  has  reduced  the  damage. 

Cultivation. — It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  early  spring 
plowing,  follow^ed  by  thorough  cultivation,  seems  to  reduce  con- 
siderably the  damage  from  this  pest. 

Borers. — The  apple  grower  is  likely  to  be  troubled  by  two 
species  of  borers,  the  fiat-headed  and  the  round-headed  apple- 
tree  borers.  They  differ  principally  in  the  fact  that  the 
latter  requires  much  more  time  to  reach  maturity  than  the 
former,  but  either  one  will  stay  in  the  tree  long  enough  to  make 
it  look  sick.     All  parts  of  the  trunk  and  main  branches  are 


156  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

liable  to  attack,  but  especially  the  lower  part  of  tlie  trunk. 
The  larvEe  burrow  in  the  wood,  principally  in  the  sap  wood, 
and  in  bad  cases  they  may  completely  girdle  the  tree. 

Clean  Culture. — Trees  standing  in  sod,  or  with  weeds  about 
the  trunks,  are  especially  liable  to  attack,  much  more  so  than  in 
well  cultivated  orchards.  Take  the  case  of  a  single  young  orchard 
which  was  examined  on  account  of  some  of  the  trees  being  badly 
attacked  by  borers.  The  land  was  under  cultivation,  but  several 
patches  were  very  weedy.  Other  parts  were  entirely  free  from 
weeds;  and  without  exception  the  trees  attacked  by  borers  were 
those  standing  in  weeds.  This  suggests  one  of  the  best  methods 
of  fighting  this  pest  in  sections  where  it  has  been  found  trouble- 
some— thorough  cultivation. 

Careful  Examination. — The  presence  of  the  borers  may  be 
detected  usually  by  the  castings  or  dust  which  is  thrown  out  by 
the  larva  as  it  bores  through  the  wood.  In  badly  affected  trees 
it  is  also  shown  by  the  sickly  appearance  of  the  tree,  but  no  one 
should  ever  wait  for  this  sign.  In  sections  where  this  pest  is 
likely  to  be  troublesome  the  trees  should  be  examined  carefully 
at  least  once  a  year,  the  best  time  being  early  autumn. 

Dig  Out  Borers. — ^When  a  tree  is  found  to  be  affected  the 
only  thing  to  do  is  to  cut  out  the  borer.  A  good  sharp  knife  and  a 
stout  wire  are  the  usual  equipment.  Cut  into  the  burrow  and 
follow  it  up  until  the  borer  is  found.  Sometimes  the  wire  is 
used  to  push  into  the  hole  and  kill  the  borer  without  getting  it 
out  of  the  burrow.  This  is  all  right  provided  one  is  certain  that 
the  borer  is  killed,  and  of  course  it  saves  some  cutting  of  the  tree. 

Prevention. — It  seems  unfortunate  that  some  really  satisfac- 
tory method  of  prevention  has  not  been  devised.  Various 
schemes  have  been  suggested  and  some  of  them  are  certainly 
worth  trying.  A  piece  of  wire  screen,  if  put  on  carefully  so 
that  the  female  insect  can  neither  crawl  down  behind  it,  nor 
deposit  the  egg  through  it  where  the  screen  rests  against  the 
bark,  will  prevent  any  attack  on  the  trunk,  where  most  of  the 
trouble  occurs.  Another  plan  worth  trying,  in  sections  where 
these  insects  are  known  to  be  plentiful,  is  to  wash  the  trunks 


PEAR  PSYLLA  157 

with  soft  soap  or  whale-oil  soap,  made  the  consistency  of  thick 
paint.  To  this  is  added  some  crude  carbolic  acid,  an  ounce  to 
each  gallon  of  the  wash. 

Another  borer  which  is  worth  mentioning  here  is  the  shot- 
hole  or  pin  borer,  a  small,  cylindrical  insect  of  the  size  of  the  lead 
in  an  ordinary  pencil.  It  makes  many  small  holes  in  the  trunk 
and  main  branches,  but,  so  far  as  known,  never  attacks  a 
thoroughly  healthy  tree.  If  this  insect  is  found,  therefore,  it  is  an 
indication  that  the  trees  have  been  damaged  in  some  other  way, 
and  the  cause  of  and  remedy  for  this  injury  should  be 
investigated 

INSECTS    ATTACKING    THE    PEAR 

The  pear  is  attacked  by  much  the  same  list  of  insects  as  the 
apple.  The  San  Jose  scale  is  even  more  partial  to  it  than  to  the 
apple,  the  codling  moth  attacks  it,  so  does  the  curculio,  and  the 
canker  worm  is  by  no'  means  averse  to  a  pear  diet.  Of  course 
the  treatment  for  all  these  insects  is  the  same  as  when  they 
attack  the  apple.  Two  other  insects,  however,  which  have  not 
been  mentioned  may  be  given  here. 

Pear  Psylla. — This  insect  prefers  the  pear  and  it  frequently 
becomes  so  serious  as  to  practically  ruin  an  orchard.  Cases  are 
known  where  men  were  actually  driven  to  cut  down  their  pear 
trees  because  of  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  psylla  in  check. 

Life  History. — The  adult  insect  is  very  small  indeed,  perhaps 
a  tenth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  is  likely  to  escape  notice  en- 
tirely unless  a  systematic  search  is  made  for  it.  The  adults  are 
very  active,  jumping  and  flying  readily,  and  from  this  are  often 
called  "jumping  lice."  They  pass  the  winter  in  this  stage,  in 
cracks  and  crevices  or  under  scales  of  bark  on  the  trees.  "With 
the  first  warm  weather  the  eggs  are  deposited,  principally  upon 
the  twigs.  The  young  soon  hatch  and  begin  feeding,  which 
they  do  by  sucking  the  juice  of  the  tree,  attacking  principally 
the  leaf  stems.  The  insect  gives  off  a  "honeydew"  similar  to 
that  of  the  aphis,  which  coats  the  whole  tree,  trunk  and  all, 
with  a  shiny,  and  later  a  blackish,  varnish.  So  abundant  do 
they  become  by  successive  broods,  that  the  trees  are  seriously 


158  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

weakened,  making  little  growth  and  sometimes  dropping  both 
leaves  and  fruit. 

Control. — The  psylla  may  be  largely  controlled  by  spraying 
with  lime-sulfur  and  in  bad  cases  there  should  be  an  application 
of  this  wash  just  as  soon  as  the  leaves  are  off  the  trees  in  the 
autumn.  This  ought  to  be  followed  by  another  application  in 
the  spring  and  both  of  these  should  be  of  such  a  strength  as  to 
do  thorough  work.  If  the  specific  gravity  hydrometer  test  is 
made,  1.03  is  the  proper  strength  after  diluting.  About  one 
gallon  of  commercial  lime-sulfur  to  9  or  10  gallons  of  water 
will  usually  produce  this  strength.  "Where  the  dormant  spray- 
ing has  been  neglected,  or  if  the  insects  are  plentiful  in  spite 
of  winter  spraying,  some  summer  applications  must  be  made. 
Any  of  the  contact  sprays  are  likely  to  be  useful,  but  some 
of  the  tobacco  extracts  seem  to  be  most  efficient.  If  this  summer 
spraying  can  be  done  just  after  a  rain  has  washed  off  the  honey- 
dew  so  much  the  better. 

Leaf  Blister  Mite. — Another  pest  which  is  frequently  trouble- 
some on  both  pears  and  apples  is  the  blister  mite.  This  is  not 
a  true  insect,  but  is  related  to  tlie  red  spider  of  plants  and  to 
the  mite  which  causes  "scab"  in  sheep.  It  is  entirely  too 
small  to  be  seen  without  the  aid  of  a  microscope,  so  that  the 
orchardist  is  never  likely  to  see  it,  but  if  he  lives  in  an  infested 
district  he  is  likely  to  become  altogether  too  familiar  with  its 
work. 

Habits  and  Injuries. — The  winter  is  passed  in  the  adult  stage 
under  the  scales  of  the  buds,  where  the  mites  collect  in  large 
numbers.  As  soon  as  the  leaves  begin  to  expand  in  the  spring 
they  are  entered  by  the  adults  and  the  eggs  are  deposited  in  the 
leaf  tissues.  The  eggs  soon  hatch  and  the  old  and  young  feed 
upon  the  cells  of  the  leaf,  causing  the  galls  or  blisters  which  are 
very  characteristic. 

These  are  at  first  light-colored  in  the  apple  and  reddish  in  the 
pear,  but  later  turn  brown  when  dead.  This  is  the  most  notice- 
able and  distinctive  stage  of  the  injury  and  is  easily  recognized 
by  anyone  who  once  becomes  familiar  with  it.  The  small  brown 
blisters  are  scattered  somewhat  regularly  over  the  surface  of 


THE  PEAR  SLUG  159 

the  leaf,  giving  it  a  peculiar  and  very  characteristic  appearance. 
In  serious  cases,  however,  the  most  of  the  leaf  is  affected  and 
sometimes  both  leaves  and  fruit  may  drop  as  a  result  of  the 
injury  to  the  leaves.  The  fruit  is  itself  also  attacked,  though 
much  less  commonly,  and  the  injury  is  less  severe  and  much 
less  conspicuous. 

The  principal  injury  comes  through  the  interference  with 
the  functions  of  the  leaf.  The  mites  remain  in  the  leaves  until 
autumn,  when  they  seek  the  buds  and  work  in  under  the  outer 
scales  for  the  winter. 

The  tnost  convenient  treatment  is  to  spray  with  lime-sulfur 
in  the  early  spring.  This  catches  them  in  their  winter  quarters 
among  the  bud  scales.  Any  of  the  forms  of  this  wash  which 
are  used  for  the  San  Jose  scale  will  be  effective,  and  fortunately 
one  application  is  usually  all  that  is  needed  for  both  pests.  In 
the  event  of  a  very  serious  attack  Professor  Parrott  of  New 
York,  who  has  carefully  investigated  the  blister  mite,  recom- 
mends two  applications,  one  in  the  autumn  and  one  in  the 
spring,  using  kerosene  emulsion  diluted  with  five  parts  of 
water.  The  autumn  application  is  likely  to  be  most  effective, 
since  the  mites  have  not  yet  secreted  themselves  in  the  bud 
scales.  This  double  treatment,  however,  is  rarely  necessary-. 
The  mite  has  seldom  been  serious  in  orchards  which  are  care- 
fully sprayed  for  San  Jose  scale  each  year,  while  it  is  often 
seen  both  in  neglected  orchards  and  in  those  where  the  spraying 
is  done  carelessly. 

The  Pear  Slug. — The  foliage  of  the  pear,  plum,  quince  and 
cherry  is  likely  to  be  attacked  by  a  shiny,  olive-green  little  slug 
with  a  brownish  head.  Frequently  the  first  intimation  one  has 
of  any  trouble  is  to  notice  that  some  trees  in  the  orchard  are 
turning  brown  as  though  from  the  effects  of  dry  weather.  A 
closer  examination  will  show  these  little  slugs  scattered  over  the 
upper  surface  of  the  leaves.  They  eat  out  the  tissue  of  the 
leaves  till  only  the  ribs  and  the  epidermis  of  the  lower  surface 
remain.  The  leaves  turn  as  brown  as  in  winter  and  are  later 
sometimes  replaced  by  a  new  crop.  The  slugs  spend  the  winter  as 
larvas  in  the  soil  and  emerge  in  late  spring  or  early  summer. 


160  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

The  pest  is  easily  controlled  by  spraying  with  arsenate  of 
lead  or  any  similar  poison.  Contact  poisons  may  also  be  used 
and  even  fine  dust  or  water  is  effective. 


INSECTS    ATTACKING    THE    STONE    FRUITS 

There  are  not  nearly  so  many  serious  insect  enemies  of  the 
stone  fruits  as  of  the  pome  fruits.  Probably  this  is  due  in  con- 
siderable part  to  the  more  pungent  taste  of  the  foliage  of  most 
of  the  stone  fruits.  However,  there  is  no  real  dearth  of  insect 
enemies,  even  of  the  stone  fruits. 

The  peach,  like  the  rest  of  its  relatives,  is  attacked  by  very 
few  insect  enemies.  The  San  Jose  scale,  the  plum  curculio  and 
the  aphis  are  all  likely  to  attack  it,  especially  the  first  named, 
but  about  the  only  "  specialty  "  in  the  insect  line  is  the  borer. 

Peach  Tree  Borer. — ^]\Iost  people  who  grow  peach  trees  are 
familiar  with  this  pest.  Its  presence  in  the  tree  is  shown  by  a 
sticky  gum  which  is  thrown  out  in  large  quantities  at  or  near 
the  surface  of  the  ground. 

Life  Cycle. — The  adult  insect,  which  one  rarely  sees,  is  a 
very  pretty  moth,  looking,  however,  much  more  like  a  wasp.  It 
is  variously  marked  with  black,  brown  and  several  shades  of 
yellow,  and  the  two  sexes  are  quite  unlike.  The  eggs  are  laid 
throughout  the  summer  on  the  bark  and  usually  well  down  on 
the  trunk.  The  larva,  on  hatching,  burroAvs  into  the  inner  bark 
and  sap  wood,  where  it  feeds,  causing  the  copious  production 
of  gum  just  mentioned.  Here  it  feeds  for  nearly  a  year,  ceas- 
ing operations  only  during  the  winter,  and  emerges  during  the 
early  part  of  the  summer  to  begin  the  round  of  life  again. 

Dig  out  the  Borers. — The  orchardist  is  likely  to  have  little 
difficulty  in  identifying  the  work  of  this  insect.  The  gum  already 
mentioned  is  the  first  indication.  On  digging  into  this  the  brown- 
ish castings  of  the  larva  will  be  found,  and  a  little  searching 
with  a  knife  will  soon  disclose  the  burrow  and  later  the  larva 
itself.  Sometimes  the  larva  will  even  be  found  outside  the  tree 
in  the  mixture  of  gum  and  castings.  A  small,  sharp-pointed 
trowel  will  be  found  an  excellent  implement  to  work  with.     It 


THE  CHERRY  APHIS  IGl 

can  be  used  to  dig  a\\'ay  the  gum  and  some  of  the  surface  soil, 
and  may  even  be  used  to  follow  up  the  burrows  and  locate  the 
borer  itself.  Usuall}^  a  fairly  heavy  wire  is  a  useful  addition 
to  the  equipment  and  a  good  knife  ought  also  to  be  included. 
Experience  seems  to  differ  as  to  the  best  time  to  dig  out  the 
borers,  but  autumn  is  usually  preferred  for  the  work.  In  south- 
ern peach  districts  the  "worming  of  the  trees"  takes  place  twice 
a  year,  say  about  April  and  October. 

This  is  the  remedy  on  which  the  greatest  reliance  must  be 
placed  and  is  frequently  the  only  one  used.  Mounding  up  the 
trees  with  earth  early  in  the  season,  wrapping  the  trunks  with 
building  paper  and  using  various  washes  are  all  recommended, 
but  are,  after  all,  only  makeshifts. 

The  plum  curculio  perhaps  deserves  some  further  mention  in 
connection  with  its  work  on  plums  and  peaches,  though  it  has 
already  been  discussed  under  apples*.  The  larva  is  the  white 
"worm"  so  often  found  about  the  pits  of  plums  and  peaches. 
The  injured  fruit  usually  drops  prematurely,  sometimes  when 
very  small  and  green,  and  at  other  times  they  merely  ripen 
prematurely.  Often  this  dropping  is  not  a  serious  matter,  as  it 
serves  merely  to  relieve  the  tree  from  an  overburden  of  fruit. 
But  when  the  tree  has  set  a  light  crop,  the  loss  from  curculio 
may  be  a  very  serious  matter. 

The  spraying  already  discussed  is  generally  all  that  it  is 
worth  while  to  attempt  in  the  way  of  remedies.  The  jarring 
of  the  trees  to  make  the  insects  fall  upon  a  sheet  and  thus  give 
an  opportunity  to  destroy  them,  while  it  is  usually  an  entirely 
effective  method,  is  too  slow  and  expensive  to  be  warranted  under 
most  conditions. 

The  Cherry  Aphis. — The  cherry  has  a  special  aphis  of  its 
own  which  attacks  especially  the  tips  of  vigorous  shoots  and 
often  does  very  spectacular  work,  especially  on  the  big,  sweet 
cherries.  On  young  trees,  which  are  making  long,  vigorous 
shoots,  each  shoot  will  be  terminated  by  a  cluster  of  curled 
leaves  which  later  turn  brown.  The  insect  itself  is  dark  brown 
or  black  and  large  compared  with  other  aphids.  But  the  general 
treatment  is  the  same. 
11 


162  ORCHARD  INSECTS 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Contrast    insects    with    biting    moutli-parts    and    those    with    sucking 

moutli-parts. 

2.  What   three   things   make   the   San   Jose    scale   especially   dreaded   by 

orchardists? 

3.  What  kinds  of  plants  are  attacked  by  this  insect? 

4.  Wliat  are  the  principal  remedies  used  to  combat  the  scale? 

5.  Give  reasons  wliy  the  spraying  for  scale  should  be  especially  thorough. 

6.  Give   some   idea   of  the  damage   done  by   the   codling   moth    or    apple 

worm  to  the  American  apple  crop. 

7.  WTiat  methods  should  be  used  in  combating  tliis  insect? 

8.  Outline  the  life  history  of  the  aphis. 

9.  Give  methods   of   controlling  the   aphis. 

10.  Describe  the  damage  to  the  apple  from  attacks  of  the  curculio. 

11.  Outline  the  life  history  of  this  insect. 

12.  What  remedies  should  be  used? 

13.  Describe  the  life  history  of  the  bud  moth. 

14.  How  is  it  combated? 

15.  Tell  what  you  can  of  the  canker  worm  and  its  work, 

16.  How  is  it  controlled? 

17.  Tell  how  to  combat  the  tent-caterpillar. 

18.  Describe  the  life  history  of  the  railroad  worm,  or  apple  maggot. 

19.  What  methods  are  recommended  in  fighting  this  insect? 

20.  Give  directions  for  controlling  borers. 

21.  Give  a  list  of  insects  attacking  the  pear. 

22.  Wliich   of  these  is  most   destructive   in  your   section?     Give  meUiods 

of   controlling  it. 

23.  What  are  the  serious  insect  enemies  of  the  stone  fruits? 


CHAPTER  XII 
DISEASES  OF  FRUIT  TREES 

As  in  the  case  of  insects,  the  writer  makes  no  claim  in  the 
present  chapter  to  anything  like  a  complete  list  of  the  fungous 
troubles  which  may  beset  the  orchard  owner.  He  merely  hopes 
to  give  some  suggestions,  taken  principally  from  personal  ex- 
perience, which  may  help  the  student  and  the  orchardist  in 
recognizing  the  more  connnon  pests  and  in  deciding  what  to  do 
for  them. 

Importance  of  Knowing  Why. — To  the  student,  the  fungous 
diseases  of  fruit  trees  form  an  extremely  interesting  group  of 
organisms,  one  that  he  likes  to  examine  and  to  study.  To  the 
orchard  owner  they  are  a  pestiferous  collection  of  annoying 
troubles  against  which  he  must  be  constantly  on  his  guard.  But 
even  with  the  practical  orchard  man  it  is  very  desirable  that  he 
should  give  them  sufficient  study  to  know  what  methods  are 
best  and  why  they  are  best.  This  latter  point  has  received  much 
study.  It  has  always  seemed  to  the  writer  that  almost  anyone 
ought  to  do  better  work  if  he  knew  ivhy  he  did  it  in  a  certain 
way  rather  than  in  some  other  way.  If  the  man  who  sprays 
understands  that  when  he  leaves  live  San  Jose  scales  on  the  tips 
of  a  lot  of  branches  he  is  likely  to  have  the  entire  tree  reinfested 
because  the  scales  breed  all  through  the  season  and  crawl  down 
onto  the  part  he  sprayed ;  if  he  understands  this  he  is  far  more 
likely  to  do  good  work  than  if  he  is  merely  told  to  spray 
thoroughly.  If  in  cutting  out  fire  blight,  he  understands  just 
why  he  cuts  as  he  does  and  why  he  disinfects  his  shears,  he  is 
much  more  likely  to  do  his  work  properly  than  if  he  is  merely 
"shown."  So  it  seems  worth  while  to  understand  something  of 
the  life  history  of  these  fungous  diseases  that  cause  so  much  extra 
work  to  the  orchardist  and  to  know  just  how  the  fungicides 
affect  them. 

Nature  and  Types  of  Fungus. — The  fungus  is  merely  a  very 
low  form  of  plant  life.    It  does  not  manufacture  its  own  food, 

163 


164  DISEASES  OF  FRUIT  TREES 

as  the  apple  tree  does,  out  of  air  and  water  and  various  other 
ingredients,  but  it  allows  the  tree  to  do  this  and  then  it  comes 
in  and  steals  the  manufactured  foods.  It  is  a  robber  pure  and 
simple.  And  in  order  that  it  may  absorb  these  manufactured, 
foods  such  as  sugar  and  starch,  it  has  to  establish  a  very  intimate 
contact  with  the  host  plant  (and  a  very  unwilling  host  it  is) . 

Sometimes  it  grows  on  the  surface  with  very  slight  attach- 
ment to  the  host,  as  in  the  case  of  mildews,  and  such  a  disease 
may  be  treated  by  the  use  of  dry  sulfur  dusted  upon  the  leaves 
after  the  fungus  has  become  established,  because  practically  all 
of  the  fungus  is  spread  out  there  open  to  attack. 

Again,  the  fungus  has  a  much  more  intimate  connection  with 
the  host,  although  still  growing  on  the  surface.  Such  a  type  is 
the  apple  scab.  In  this  case  a  large  part  of  the  fungus  is  im- 
bedded in  the  host,  and  treatment,  after  the  fungus  has  become 
established,  is  of  relatively  little  value. 

Lastly  we  have  a  type  of  fungus  which,  grows  wholly  or 
largely  within  the  host.  The  black  knot  of  the  plum  is  such  a 
fungus.  Here  the  fungus  is  entirely  safe  from  attack  after  it 
once  enters  the  host  and  until  it  emerges  in  the  black  knots  of 
the  fniiting  stage. 

The  most  rational  treatment  for  all  fungous  diseases  is  that 
which  attempts  to  prevent  their  ever  gaining  a  foothold  on  the 
host,  and  we  are  enabled  to  give  our  trees  this  kind  of  protec- 
tion because  men  have  discovered  certain  substances  which  are 
harmless  to  the  host  plant  but  which  will  kill  the  fungus.  Fre- 
quently the  margin  of  safety  is  very  slight  and  a  substance  to  be 
effective  against  the  fungus  must  be  of  such  a  strength  or  such 
a  composition  as  to  come  very  near  to  injuring  the  host  plant. 

Sometimes  varying  conditions  of  weather  or  of  the  plant 
cause  the  fungicide  to  pass  the  margin  of  safety  and  become 
injurious  to  the  host  as  well  as  to  the  fungus.  Bordeaux  mixture 
is  one  example  of  this.  As  sprayed  upon  the  apple  tree  it  is 
probably  in  the  form  of  copper  hydroxide,  or  some  similar  com- 
pound, and  in  this  form  it  does  not  hurt  the  apple  tree  but  does 
destroy  the  apple  scab.  But  under  certain  weather  conditions 
the  chemical  form  of  this  fungicide  undergoes  a  change  which 


SCAB  165 

makes  it  dangerous  to  the  apple  and  we  have  the  apples  on  the 
tree  "russeted"  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  damaged  so  that  they 
turn  yellow  and  fall. 

Action  of  a  Fungicide. — ^Most  fungicides  become  effective 
against  the  fungus  by  entering  its  cells  and  destroying  its 
tissues.  For  example,  the  spore  of  the  fungus  becomes  lodged 
upon  the  leaf  of  the  host  plant  and,  the  conditions  of  heat  and 
moisture  being  favorable,  it  germinates  much  as  a  grain  of 
wheat  might  do,  sending  out  a  little  germ  tube  which  grows  about 
over  the  surface  of  the  leaf  and  finally  enters  the  tissues,  either 
by  way  of  one  of  the  breathing  pores  or  by  actually  working  its 
way  through  the  tissues.  Now  if  the  germ  tube  is  able  to  do  all 
this  without  encountering  any  injurious  substance,  it  establishes 
itself  within  the  host  and  goes  on  thriving.  But  if  the  tree 
has  been  properly  sprayed,  then  the  little  germ  tube  in  its 
wandering  prior  to  entering  the  host  comes  in  contact  with 
some  of  the  fungicide,  absorbs  it  into  its  tissues  and  is  thereby 
destroyed. 

This  is  the  whole  story  in  a  few  words  and  the  aim  of  the 
man  who  sprays  should  be  to  do  his  work  so  thoroughly  that 
no  wandering  fungus  can  escape  coming  in  contact  with  a 
particle  of  the  fungicide  used,  whether  this  be  lime-sulfur  or 
Bordeaux  mixture  or  plain  copper  sulfate. 

SPECIFIC  DISEASES 

Now  let  us  consider  a  few  of  the  more  important  specific 
diseases.  They  may  perhaps  be  considered  in  two  sections,  those 
attacking  the  pome  fruits  and  those  attacking  the  stone  fruits, 
because  it  so  often  happens  that  a  particular  disease  attacks 
both  the  apple  and  the  pear,  for  example,  or  the  peach  and 
plum. 

DISEASES  OF  POME  FRUITS 

Scab. — This  list  may  be  very  appropriately  headed  by  the 
scab  or  black-spot,  which  stands  in  about  the  same  relation  to 
apple  diseases  as  the  codling  moth  does  to  apple  insects.  Slightly 
different  but  closely  allied  forms  attack  the  apple  and  pear.  It 
attacks   fruit    (Fig.   71),   leaves   and  twigs.     On  the  fruit   it 


166 


DISEASES  OF  FRUIT  TREES 


produces  very  characteristic  spots  which  are  a  peculiar  olive 
green  in  the  early  stages  but  soon  become  blackened,  the  skin 
usually  breaking  about  the  margins  of  the  spot.  In  very  bad 
cases  the  spots  coalesce  and  the  fruit  may  crack  open  nearly  to 
the  core  (see  Fig.  90).  On  the  leaves  the  spots  are  usually 
somewhat  circular  in  outline,  at  least  in  the  beginning,  and  are  of 
a  peculiar  light  green  color  which  gradually  changes  to  dark 
brown  or  black  as  tlie  tissues  die.  In  many  cases  tlie  leaves  wrinkle 
in  a  peculiar  manner,  due  to  the  growth  of  the  surface  being  re- 
tarded irregularly.  The  scab  passes  the  winter  upon  the  old  leaves 
in  the  orchard  and  the  pores  reinfest  the  trees  the  folloAving  spring 
from  these  old  leaves ;  the  first  infections  usually  coming  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  leaves. 


Fig.  71. — Scab,  or  black-spot  of  the  apple.     This  is  the  most  serious  of  all  the  apple  diseases, 
but  can  be  cuiitioUed  by  thorough  spraying. 

^Susceptibility  to  Seal). — There  is  a  very  marked  difference  in 
the  relative  susceptibility  of  different  varieties  of  both  pears  and 
apples.  Among  pears  the  Flemish  Beauty  is  peculiarly  liable 
to  attack  and  the  crop  is  frequently  ruined,  many  specimens 
being  cracked  nearly  to  the  core,  while  adjoining  trees  of  Bartlett 
may  be  relatively  little  affected.  With  apples  the  Fameuse,  Rhode 
Island  Greening,  Mcintosh  and  Spy  are  among  those  which  are 
especially  subject  to  attack. 

The  treatment  for  scab,  in  either  pears  or  apples,  consists 
in  spraying  with  lime-sulfur  or  Bordeaux  mixture,  and  the 
number  of  applications  varies  with  the  locality,  the  season  and 
the  variety.  If  a  bad  attack  is  expected  the  trees  should  be 
sprayed  before  the  blossoms  open,  just  after  they  fall  and  once 
or  twice  thereafter  at  intervals  of  two  to  four  weeks.  The  rela- 
tive importance  of  these  sprayings  will  vary  with  the  season.    If 


BLOTCH  167 

the  weather  is  dry  during  the  early  part  of  the  season  and  wet 
at  the  last  part,  a  single  late  spraying  may  give  better  results 
than  two  or  three  early  ones. 

With  varieties  of  either  pears  or  apples  which  are  especially 
susceptible  to  scab,  it  is  desirable  to  make  two  applications  before 
the  blossoms  open.  One  of  these  is  made  before  the  blossom  buds 
and  the  clusters  separate  from  each  other ;  and  the  second  is  made 
just  before  the  blossoms  open.     (See  Fig.  88). 

Rust. — Similar  forms  of  this  disease  attack  the  apple,  pear 
and  quince.  It  is  one  of  those  peculiar  diseases  which  at  one 
stage  lives  on  one  host  plant  and  at  another  stage  on  another 
host.  In  this  case  the  second  host,  with  all  three  forms  of  the 
disease,  is  the  cedar  tree.  On  this  it  forms  the  peculiar  rough 
brown  knots  known  as  ' '  cedar-apples, ' '  and  the  first  thing  to  do, 
where  possible,  is  to  get  rid  of  the  cedar  trees. 

On  apple  leaves  the  rust  appears  as  small  roughened  spots, 
generally  in  the  form  of  a  distinct  ring.  The  tissue  of  this  ring 
is  thickened  and  on  the  under  surface  of  the  leaf  there  are 
numerous  little  protuberances,  while  on  the  upper  surface  the 
tissue  turns  yellow  and  finally  a  bright  orange.  On  the  fruit 
the  disease  is  less  conspicuous,  but  appears  about  the  same  as  on 
the  under  surface  of  the  leaves. 

Varieties  of  fruits  differ  greatly  in  their  susceptibility. 
Among  apples  the  Wealthy  is  conspicuous  for  its  liability  to  the 
disease,  and  the  bright  orange  spots  will  be  found  on  the  leaves 
of  this  variety  if  the  disease  is  in  the  neighborhood. 

When  the  disease  cannot  be  controlled  by  destroying  the 
cedar  trees,  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  resort  to  spraying  and  the 
same  applications  given  for  the  scab  are  a.s  effective  as  any  and 
will  do  something  to  keep  this  disease  in  check.  It  is  much  more 
troublesome  in  southern  sections  than  farther  north. 

Blotch. — This  is  a  relatively  new  disease  and  is  much  more 
common  in  the  Middle  West  than  elsewhere,  but  is  sometimes 
found  in  most  apple  sections.  It  resembles  the  scab  verj^  closely 
and  is  often  mistaken  for  it,  but  on  the  fruit  it  is  apt  to  be 
scattered  rather  uniformly  over  the  entire  surface,  while  the 
scab  is  confined  to  one  side  of  the  fruit.  The  blotch  also  makes 
a  less  compact  growth  on  the  areas  affected.    It  produces  cankers 


168  DISEASES  OF  FRUIT  TREES 

upon  the  twigs  and  branches  and  peculiar  light  brown  spots 
upon  the  leaves.  It  works  later  in  the  season  than  the  scab, 
necessitating,  where  serious,  one  or  two  sprayings  afxer  the  last 
spraying  for  scab. 

Cankers. — There  are  a  number  of  diseases  which  attack  the 
twigs,  branches  and  even  the  trunks  of  apple  trees  (and  less 
frequently  of  pears  and  quinces),  producing  ugly  roughened 
brown  areas.  Sometimes  the  diseased  section  is  very  well  de- 
fined with  a  distinct  line  marking  its  boundary  where  the  dis- 
eased tissue  has  shrunken  and  broken  away  from  the  adjoining 
healthy  tissue.  In  other  cases,  as  the  European  canker,  there 
are  many  concentric  rings  or  folds  where  the  tree  has  repeatedly 
attempted  to  heal  over  the  wound  and  each  time  the  fungus  has. 


Pia.  72. — Apple  canker.     There  are  several  different  diseases  which  pass  under  the  general 
name  of  canker  and  some  of  them  are  quite  serious. 

during  its  season  of  rapid  growth,  gotten  the  upper  hand 
(Fig.  72). 

Treatment. — These  cankers  vary  greatly  in  the  organism 
which  causes  them  and  in  the  appearance,  but  the  general  line 
of  treatment  is  much  the  same.  There  are  three  ways  of  fight- 
ing such  diseases. 

First,  all  affected  twigs  and  branches  which  can  be  spared 
should  be  cut  out  and  burned. 

Second,  in  case  the  branch  is  too  valuable  to  be  spared,  or 
in  the  event  of  a  canker  spot  on  the  trunk,  the  diseased  tissue 
should  be  cut  out  carefully  and  then  the  wound  painted  over 
as  in  the  case  of  wounds  made  in  pruning.  For  the  preliminary 
work  of  cutting  out,  a  light,  sharp  hatchet  will  be  found  very 


FIRE  BLIGHT  169 

satisfactory,  and  the  smoothing  up  of  the  wound  may  be  done 
with  a  knife  or  a  heavy  chisel. 

Third,  the  trunk  and  branches  of  the  trees  should  be  care- 
fully sprayed  whenever  an  application  of  any  fungicide  is  made 
to  the  orchard.  In  particular  they  should  be  given  a  thorough 
spraying  before  the  buds  start  in  the  spring. 

These  three  lines  of  attack  will  generally  keep  things  fairly 
well  under  control,  though  cases  are  found  where  the  attacks 
are  so  bad  as  to  make  the  task  of  cleaning  up  the  trees  almost 
hopeless. 

Sooty  Blotch  and  Fly  Speck. — These  two  diseases  are  very 
similar,  the  difference  in  appearance  being  that  suggested  by 
the  names.  Some  observers  have  even  considered  them  as  two 
forms  of  the  same  fungiLs.  They  are  both  superficial,  with  very 
little  attachment  to  the  host,  and  can  frequently  be  entirely 
rubbed  off  with  a  cloth.  They  injure  the  appearance  of  the  fruit 
so  as  to  render  it  unsalable.  There  is  usually  little  or  no  trouble 
with  them  in  orchards  that  are  sprayed  for  scab,  but  occa- 
sionally a  later  spraying  may  be  necessary. 

Fire  Blight. — This  is  one  of  the  most  serious  diseases  of  the 
pome  fruits,  both  because  it  injures  the  trees  so  severely  and 
because  the  methods  of  eradicating  it  are  so  expensive.  It 
attacks  pears,  apples  and  quinces,  as  well  as  many  allied  plants, 
such  as  mountain  ash,  hawthorns,  and  crab  apples.  The  dis- 
ease is  most  noticeable  where  it  attacks  the  tips  of  vigorously 
growing  shoots.  Here  it  works  rapidly,  killing  both  leaves  and 
twigs  and  causing  them  to  turn  brown  and  eventually  nearly 
black,  especially  on  the  pear.  It  will  also,  on  bearing  trees, 
attack  the  fruit  spurs,  where  it  does  more  serious,  though  less 
spectacular,  damage,  because  new  terminal  shoots  are  easily 
grown,  but  new  spurs  are  grown  with  great  difficulty.  By  follow- 
ing down  the  spur  or  twig  the  disease  frequently  becomes  estab- 
lished on  the  main  branches  or  even  the  trunk,  where  it  produces 
what  is  popularly  known  as  "body  blight." 

The  Cause. — The  disease  is  caused  by  a  bacterium  which 
works  in  the  tender  parts  of  the  twig,  largely  in  the  cambium 
layer,  and  during  the  actively  growing  stage  the  organisms  may 


170  DISEASES  OF  FRUIT  TREES 

be  found  some  distance  below  where  there  is  any  outward  sign 
of  the  disease.  It  winters  over  in  the  old,  diseased  tissues  and  is 
spread  in  the  spring  to  the  growing  shoots,  largely  through  the 
instrumentality  of  insects,  particularly  bees.  Bearing  apple 
trees  may  often  be  seen  with  one-quarter  of  the  fruit  spurs  dead, 
and  in  every  spur  the  infestation  came  through  the  blossoms, 
doubtless  having  been  carried  by  the  bees  in  their  visits  to  the 
blossoms. 

There  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  susceptibility  of  varieties, 
the  Wealthy  and  Rhode  Island  Greening,  among  apples,  and 
the  Bartlett,  Clapp  and  Flemish,  Beauty,  among  pears,  being 
especially  liable  to  attack,  while  the  Mcintosh  and  Baldwin 
apples  and  the  Anjou  and  Seckel  pears  are  much  less  so. 

The  Remedy. — The  disease  cannot  be  influenced  by  spraying. 
The  only  satisfactory  remedy  is  to  cut  out  the  diseased  parts, 
and  the  best  time  to  do  this  is  in  the  autumn.  If  all  the  dis- 
eased areas  can  be  cut  out  and  burned  during  the  dormant 
season  there  will  be  no  outbreak  in  the  spring.  Of  course  this 
cannot  always  be  done,  but  systematic  effort  will  go  a  long  way 
towards  it.  If  the  work  can  be  done  in  the  autumn  before  the 
leaves  fall,  so  much  the  better,  as  the  affected  areas  are  more 
easily  located  then.  The  diseased  shoots  should  also  be  cut 
during  the  growing  season,  though  this  is  a  less  efficient  time  than 
the  other.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  get  well  below  the 
diseased  portion  in  this  cutting  so  as  to  be  sure  that  all  the 
bacteria  are  removed. 

The  shears  or  knife  with  which  the  cutting  is  done  should  be 
disinfected  after  every  cut  to  prevent  any  germs  being  carried 
to  healthy  tissue;  otherwise  this  cutting  may  really  spread  the 
disease  from  branch  to  branch.  For  this  disinfecting  a  solu- 
tion of  corrosive  sublimate  is  used  (1  part  to  1000).  A  cloth 
or  sponge  dipped  in  this  may  be  nsed  to  wipe  the  shears,  or  it 
may  be  carried  in  a  can  and  the  shears  dipped  into  it.  In  the 
winter  work  all  affected  parts  which  are  cut  out  should  be 
gathered  up  and  burned.  This  is  not  so  important  in  summer 
work,  since  the  parts  removed  are  soft  and  soon  dry  up  and 
kill  the  bacteria. 


BROWN  ROT  171 

In  addition  to  this  active  work  of  control  it  is  well  to  keep 
the  trees  in  only  moderate  growth.  Withhold  nitrogenous  fer- 
tilizers and  cultivation,  perhaps  seed  down  the  orchard  and  do 
not  prune  heavily  in  winter. 

DISEASES   OF   THE   STONE   FRUITS 

Brown  Rot. — This  attacks  practically  all  of  the  stone  fruits 
but  especially  the  plum  and  peach.  It  is  most  conspicuous  on 
the  fruit,  causing  it  to  turn  brown  and  shrivel  and  eventually 
to  dry  up.  The  fruit  also  becomes  covered,  as  the  decay  ad- 
vances, with  a  powdery  material,  tlie  spores  of  the  disease. 
Fruit  in  clusters  is  especially  liable  to  attack,  and  thinning 
should  be  practised  so  that  no  two  fruits  may  touch.  The 
disease  may  also  attack  the  blossoms  and  even  the  spurs,  fol- 
lowing down  from  the  fruit  or  blossoms.  Damp  and  warm 
M^eather  is  especially  favorable  to  its  spread  and  the  rapidity 
with  which  it  works  when  the  trees  are  not  carefully  sprayed 
and  when  all  the  conditions  are  favorable  for  the  disease  is 
something  alarming.  It  passes  the  winter  largely  in  the  mum- 
mied fruits  which  frequently  remain  hanging  to  the  trees  until 
the  following  season. 

Efforts  to  control  the  disease  should  be  along  two  lines.  In 
the  first  place  all  of  these  mummied  fruits  should  be  destroyed 
if  possible.  They  may  be  shaken  off  the  trees  and  then  either 
gathered  up  and  destroyed  or  else  buried  or  plowed  under. 
The  second  line  of  attack  is  by  spraying.  The  trees  should  be 
given  a  thorough  spraying  with  lime-sulfur,  at  the  winter 
strength,  applied  shortly  before  the  buds  swell  in  the  spring. 
Strong  copper  sulfate  solution  is  satisfactory,  if  more  con- 
venient, and  may  be  used  if  there  is  no  San  Jose  scale  in  the 
orchard.  Then  the  trees  should  be  sprayed  later  with  self- 
boiled  lime-sulfur.  "When  a  bad  attack  is  feared,  three  applica- 
tions should  be  made:  The  first  perhaps  three  or  four  weeks 
after  the  blossoms  fall,  again  two  or  three  weeks  later,  and  a 
third  time  two  or  three  wrecks  after  this.  Under  less  serious 
conditions  one  spraying  may  be  all  that  is  needed  and  this 
should  be  probably  six  weeks  to  two  months  after  blossoming. 


172 


DISEASES  OF  FRUIT  TREES 


In  any  case  care  should  be  taken  not  to  spray  these  fruits,  espe- 
cially peaches,  so  late  that  the  spray  will  still  be  on  them  at  pick- 
ing time,  as  it  detracts  very  serionsh^  from  their  attractiveness. 
Peach  Scab. — This  is  a  very  common  disease  on  many 
varieties  of  peaches,  produchig  small,  blackish  spots  which  may 
be  so  plentiful  as  to  make  practically  one  whole  side  of  the  fruit 
black.  The  growth  of  the  side  attacked  is  retarded  so  that  the 
fruit  becomes  one  sided,  and  in  bad  cases  this  side  frequently 
cracks  open.  Fortunately  the  treatment  just  outlined  for  the 
brown  rot  will  also  entirely  check  the  peach  scab. 


FiQ.  73. — Black-knot  of  the  plum,  showing  how  new  knots  will  start  from  the  old  stubs 
when  these  are  not  cut  back  far  enough. 

Leaf  Curl. — This  is  a  very  striking  disease  and  one  which  it 
is  very  easy  to  recognize.  It  attacks  all  parts  of  the  tree, 
leaves,  branches,  flowers  and  fruit,  but  is  so  inconspicuous  on 
all  parts  but  the  leaves  that  it  usually  escapes  notice.  The  leaves 
thicken,  curl  up,  and  are  often  highly  colored  in  certain  parts 
and  in  others  of  a  light  yellowish  green.  As  the  disease  advances 
the  leaves  turn  brown  and  soon  fall,  causing  a  severe  loss  of 
vitality  to  the  tree,  which  not  only  loses  the  food  which  the  leaves 
would  have  produced  had  they  remained  healthy,  but  also  is 
further  exhausted  by  being  obliged  to  put  on  this  second  crop 
of  leaves.  The  spores  of  the  disease  live  over  winter  on  the 
bark  and  gain  entrance  to  the  buds  when  growth  starts  in  the 


BLACK-KNOT 


173 


spring".  The  spread  of  the  disease  is  markedly  favored  by  cold, 
damp  weather  in  the  sprinpr. 

It  may  be  controlled  practically  by  a  sinj^le  spraying:  with 
lime-snlfnr  at  the  winter  strength  applied  just  before  the  buds 
break  in  the  spring. 

Black-knot. — This  is  another  very  striking  disease  and 
attacks  both  the  plum  and  the  cherry,  principally  upon  the 
smaller  branches  but  often  upon  both  main  branches  and  trunk. 


Fig.  74. — A  plum  tree  badly  affected  with  black-knot. 
Fig.  75. — The  same  plum  tree  as  shown  in  Fig.  74  after  the  knot.s  have  been  cut  out. 


It  is  possible  to  recover  trees  which  are 
trees  sprayed. 


ary  badly  affected  if  the  kn(Hs  are  cut  out  and  the 


The  spores  gain  entrance  to  the  tree  during  the  spring  or  summer 
and  grow  for  a  season  entirely  within  the  branch.  The  follow- 
ing spring  the  affected  part  of  the  branch  begins  to  swell  and 
soon  the  well-known  knot  develops.  At  first  it  is  soft  in  texture 
and  light  brown  in  color,  but  gradually  turns  darker  and  becomes 
harder  in  texture.  During  late  spring  and  early  summer  the 
knot  is  covered  with  a  velvety  appearance,  which  is  caused  by 
the  production  of  summer  spores.  Later  these  disappear  and  the 
surface  becomes  hard  and  roughened. 


174  DISEASES  OF  FKUIT  TREES 

The  knots  may  develop  in  new  positions  or  by  the  side  of  old 
knots  (Fig.  73).  It  is  very  common  for  them  to  break  out  where 
a  small  twig  joins  a  branch,  the  fungus  having  apparently 
gained  entrance  in  the  angle  between  the  two  where  the  bark  is 
probably  less  impervious.  The  disease  lives  over  in  the  tissues 
adjoining  the  old  knots  and  breaks  out  again  either  above  or 
below  the  knot. 

The  most  practical  remedy  is  to  cut  out  and  burn  the  knots 
(Figs.  74  and  75).  This  is  especially  important  in  the  spring 
before  the  spores  are  produced,  but  should  be  kept  up  through 
the  season.  Care  should  be  taken  to  cut  well  below  the  knot, 
othen\4se  the  disease  may  break  out  again  as  shown  in  Figure  74. 
Spraying,  particularly  just  before  the  buds  break,  is  also 
effective.  This  may  be  supplemented  by  an  earlier  application 
in  late  winter  and  by  others  during  spring  and  summer  if  the 
outbreak  is  serious. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  is  a  fungus? 

2.  Describe  the  action  of  a  fungicide. 

3.  Describe  the  apple  scab. 

4.  Wliat  methods  are  recommended   for  combating  t!ie  apple  scab? 

5.  VVhat  remedies  are  recommended  for  rust? 

6.  Tell  what  you  can  of  the  disease  known  as  blotch. 

7.  Outline  the  methods  of  fighting  canker. 

8.  Describe  the  work  of  the  fire  blight.     How  may  it  De  controlled? 

9.  Describe  peach  scab. 

10.  Describe  leaf  curl.    How  is  it  controlled? 

11.  What  is  the  most  practical   method   of   controlling   the   black-knol    ot 

plums  and  cherries? 

12.  What  are  the  worst  fruit  diseases  in  your  district? 


CHAPTER  XIII 
SPRAYING  APPARATUS 

It  has  already  been  said  that  it  pays  to  have  a  good  equip- 
ment with  which  to  work.  There  is  as  great  a  difference  between 
an  ordinary  spray  pnmp  and  an  exceptionally  good  one  as  there 
is  between  a  No.  3  Baldwin  and  an  Extra  Fancy  Baldwin.  And 
usually  the  best  pump  does  not  cost  much  more  than  the  medium. 


Fig.  76. — Using  a  bucket  pump  on  a  bearing  apple  tree.    This  is  a  very  efficient  little  pump 
for  the  money  and  is  entirely  satisfactory  for  a  few  trees. 

It  is  the  same  with  buying  a  spray  pump  as  with  buying  a  suit 
of  clothes.  Get  a  good  one  and  it  will  last  for  years  and  be  a 
satisfaction  all  the  time.  Buy  a  poor  one  and  you  are  sorry  for 
it  from  the  start.  IMoreover,  the  styles  in  spray  pumps  do  not 
change  much. 

A  good  spraying  outfit  consists  of  a  pump  at  one  end  and  a 
nozzle  at  the  other,  with  more  or  less  hose  and  extension-rod 
between.     We  will  begin  with  the  pump. 

175 


176 


SPRAYING  APPARATUS 


Spray  Pumps. — There  are  quantities  of  them  on  the  market. 
Some  are  better  than  others,  but  most  of  them  are  good.  A  few 
of  them  are  worthless  or  nearly  so.  Of  course  the  type  of  pump 
one  ought  to  have  depends  on  whether  he  has  six  trees,  or  sixty, 
or  six  thousand;  also  on  whether  his  trees  are  old  or  young, 
peach  or  pear,  dwarf  or  standard.    There  are  five  general  types 

of  good  pumps  which  it  seems 
worth  while  to  mention. 

I.  The    hucket    pump    is 
shown  in  Figure  76.     This  is 
for  the  man  with  the  six  trees. 
And  it  will  surprise  anyone 
who  has  not  tried  it  to  see 
what  an  efficient  little  pump 
it  is.     The  writer  has  never 
been  able  to  figure  out  where 
it   gets   its   pressure,    but   it 
certainly  develops  one.    The 
^     good  points  are:   (1)  That  it 
^•^'  S"^^     develops    this    high    pressure 
^^i'     and    will,  •  therefore,    deliver 
a  good  spray;   (2)   that  it  is 
very  cheap,  so  that  anybody 
can  afford  one;  and  (3)  that 
it  is  very  simple  in  construc- 
tion, and  consequently  easy  to 
repair  and  to   operate.     We 
do   not   mean   from    all   this 
that  it  will  do  as  good  a  job  as  a  power  sprayer,  but  it  is  not 
a  toy,  by  any  means. 

Its  shortcomings  are  (1)  that  the  operator  has  to  be  constantly 
going  back  to  the  base  of  supplies  after  more  spray  material; 
(2)  that  it  is  inconvenient  to  move  about;  (3)  that  there  is  no 
agitator;  and  (4)  that  the  pressure  runs  dowTi  quickly.  And 
yet  for  all  this  it  is  entirely  adequate  for  a  few  trees. 

II.  The  knapsack  sprayer  is  shown  in  .Figure  77.  This  is  not 
adapted  to  very  tall  trees  nor  to  very  large  operations,  but  is 


Fia.  77. — Knapsack  sprayer..  This  is  an 
excellent  pump  for  rough  ground  or  where- 
soever it  is  difficult  to  get  about,  but  is  rather 
heavy  when  one  has  much  spraying  to  do. 


SPRAY  PUMPS 


177 


the  most  convenient  thing  made  for  the  man  with  a  garden  and 
dwarf  or  otherwise  small  trees.  It  is  also  especially  good  where 
a  man  wants  to  go  over  the  trees  in  a  young  orchard  in  search 
of  occasional  trees  affected  Math  the  tent-caterpillar  or  with  the 
red-hnmped  apple  caterpillar.  It  is  handy  to  get  about  with, 
one  man  can  handle  it,  it  agitates  the  liquid  w^ell  and  maintains 
a  good  pressure.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  heavy  to  carry  about, 
particuhirly  in  the  late  afternoon  if  one  has  been  using  it  all 
day ;  it  requires  filling  rather  frequently,  and  it  has  an  unpleasant 


r;  oxrf-IIent  for  wi irking  among  old  treet 


khicli   h:ing   low. 


habit  of  slopping  and  wetting  the  operator  in  the  small  of  the 
back.  On  the  whole  it  is  a  very  efficient  little  pump,  but,  like 
most  sprayers,  it  is  more  comfortable  to  ' '  use  it  by  proxy. ' ' 

III.  The  barrel  pump  (Figs.  78  and  79)  is  by  all  odds  the  most 
generally  satisfactory  of  all  the  smaller  spraying  machines.  It 
is  adapted  to  more  different  circumstances,  and  a  good  one  will 
always  give  a  good  account  of  itself.  If  a  man  has  only  a  few 
trees  he  can  combine  w'ith  one  or  more  neighbors  and  the  cost 
of  the  barrel  pump  Avill  not  be  great  for  each  one  of  them, 
while  the  satisfaction  in  using  it  will  be  great.  On  the  other 
12 


178 


SPRAYING  APPARATUS 


hand,  a  barrel  pump  ■will  be  satisfactory^  for  a  goodly  number  of 
trees  and  if  the  owner  of  the  large  orchard  gets  enough  outfits 
he  can  handle  any  size  of  orchard  with  them. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  important  points  in  a  good  barrel 
pump. 

1.  It  ought  to  be  mounted  on  the  side.  It  is  singular  how  few 
pumps  are  mounted  this  w^ay,  because  there  seem  to  be  good 
practical  reasons  for  preferring  it  to  the  end-mounted  pump  and 


Fig.  79. — A  barrel  spray  outfit  with  two  extra  barrels  of  water;  a  device  that  will  save 
much  time  where  the  water  supply  is  far  from  the  orchard. 


no  reasons  or  none  of  importance  for  the  other  plan.  The  ad- 
vantages of  the  side-mount  are:  (1)  That  it  brings  the  pump 
itself  lower,  thus  reducing  the  danger  of  catching  on  trees;  (2) 
that  it  brings  the  center  of  gravity  of  the  whole  outfit  lower, 
thus  reducing  the  danger  of  tipping  over  (Fig.  79)  ;  and  (3) 
that  the  sediment  in  the  spray  mixtures  (and  there  is  usually 
more  or  less  of  this)  naturally  works  down  under  the  pump  and 
is  drawn  out  instead  of  collecting  about  the  comers  as  it  does 
in  the  end-mounted  pump. 


SPRAY  PUMPS  179 

2.  It  ought  to  have  a  good-sized  air-chamber.  This  does 
not  mean  that  the  air-chamber  should  be  conspicuously  placed 
on  top  of  the  pump  as  is  often  the  case.  It  can  be  as  low  down 
as  desired,  but  it  will  keep  the  pressure  much  more  uniform, 

3.  There  should  be  as  few  and  as  small  openings  about  the 
pump  as  is  compatible  with  the  free  working  of  the  plunger  and 
agitator.  The  splashing  of  the  liquid  through  these  openings 
is  bad  enough  at  best;  a  prize  awaits  the  manufacjturer  who 
develops  a  pump  which  does  not  splash  the  operator. 

4.  The  pump  ought  to  have  a  good  agitator.  As  already 
suggested,  most  of  our  spray  materials  carry  more  or  less  solid 
material  in  suspension,  and  these  ought  to  be  distributed  evenly 
with  the  liquid.  With  an  inefficient  agitator  the  operator  gets 
nearly  all  the  poison  on  the  first  few  trees  and  the  balance  are 
sprayed  with  plain  water,  or  nearly  so. 

5.  There  ought  to  be  a  good  strainer  at  the  bottom  of  the 
pump.  Even  with  the  most  careful  preparation  of  the  materials 
and  the  most  thorough  straining  there  is  always  danger  of  some- 
thing getting  into  the  pump  that  will  clog  the  nozzle.  The 
strainer  is  an  additional  safeguard.  If  it  can  be  such  as  can 
be  readily  taken  off  and  cleaned  so  much  the  better.  And  if 
the  actual  straining  area  is  on  the  bottom  instead  of  on  the 
sides  of  this  strainer  it  will  come  nearer  to  emptying  the  cask. 

6.  The  pump  should  have  all  brass  working  parts.  In  these 
days  of  strong  corrosive  materials  the  best  of  pumps  will  wear 
out  soon  enough. 

7.  The  valves  should  be  simple  and  easily  accessible.  It  is 
astonishing  how  often  a  valve  will  get  stuck,  even  when  the 
pump  receives  reasonably  good  care.  The  operator  should  know 
just  ^vhere  it  is  and  how  to  get  at  it  and  the  manufacturer  should 
put  no  unnecessary  difficulties  in  the  way. 

8.  The  type  of  pacldng  ought  to  be  simple  and  the  method  of 
renewing  it  or  of  tightening  it  should  be  easy.  This  is  an 
extremely  important  point.  The  packing  is  bound  to  wear  and 
allow  leakage,  and  no  one  wants  to  be  obliged  to  resort  to  a 
machinist  or  a  high-priced  (and  low-speed)  plumber  to  get  his 
pump  fixed. 


180 


SPRAYING  APPARATUS 


9.  There  ought  to  be  an  opportunity  for  two  leads  of  hose 
if  they  are  wanted. 

10.  There  should  be  a  pressure-gauge.  This  can  be  dispensed 
with,  but  it  helps  one  to  keep  track  of  what  the  pumper  is  doing 
and  it  stimulates  him  to  do  better  work. 

IV.  The  large,  double-action  hand  pump  attached  to  a  large 
tank  is  shown  in  Figure  80.  Many  of  the  points  discussed  under 
the  barrel  pump  apply  with  equal  force  to  this  type  of  pump.  It 
has  the  great  advantage  over  the  barrel  that  it  will  carry  more 


y^m. 

H^ 

? 

%'      1 

^ 

FlQ.  so. — A   larRG,  double-action,  hand   pump   with  200-gallon  tanli. 
but  it  13  a  liian's  job  to  do  the  pumping. 


An  extellent  outfit, 


liquid.  This  is  especially  important  where  the  orchard  is  some 
distance  from  the  water  supply.  The  chief  disadvantages  of  this 
type  of  pump  are  that  it  requires  a  good,  strong  man  to  work  it, 
and  it  requires  an  equally  good  team  to  haul  it,  if  the  orchard  is 
on  a  side  hill  or  if  the  land  is  rough  or  soft. 

V.  The  Power  Sprayer. — There  are  four  different  types  of 
these  and  many  variations  under  some  of  the  types.  We  have  in 
the  first  place  the  traction  power  sprayer.  Here  the  power  is  gen- 
erated by  the  movement  of  the  wagon  wheel,  which,  by  means  of  a 
sprocket  wheel  and  chain,  works  a  pump  that  compresses  the  air 


SPRAY  PUxMPS 


181 


182 


SPRAYING  APPARATUS 


in  a  large  chamber.  This  compressed  air,  in  turn,  forces  the 
liquid  out  of  the  tank.  The  great  objection  to  this  machine  is 
that  the  pressure  runs  down  as  soon  as  the  wagon  stops.  And 
since  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  stop  in  order  to  do  good 
spraying  on  trees  of  any  size  the  best  orchardists  have  ruled 
this  machine  out  of  their  list.  It  is  all  right  with  small  trees 
where  the  outfit  travels  a  considerable  distance  for  every  gallon 
of  liquid  put  out,  but  most  orchardists  cannot  afford  so  expensive 
an  outfit  for  this  one  type  of  spraying.  This  type  is  fairly  rapidly 
going  out  of  use. 

The  second  type  of  power  sprayer  uses  compressed  air  as  a 
source  of  power.  It  is,  therefore,  essentially  like  the  type  just 
discussed,  except  that  it  uses  air  instead  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 


Fig.  S2. — A  gasolene  power  outfit.      The  most  efficient  power  sprayer.      The  cut  also  shows 
an  excellent  arrangement  for  filling  the  tank  and  mixing  the  materials. 

The  air  is  compressed  by  a  special  apparatus  which  has  to  be 
installed  on  the  farm,  and  this  makes  the  first  cost  high.  There 
is  also  the  same  objection  in  reference  to  scaly  coating  from  the 
inside  of  the  tank  clogging  the  nozzles. 

The  last  and  by  all  means  the  most  important  type  of  power 
sprayer  at  the  present  time  is  that  run  by  a  gasolene  engine 
(Fig.  82),  The  best  of  these  engines  have  been  perfected  until 
they  give  relatively  little  trouble  in  running  and  the  pumps  are 
also  admirably  adapted  to  the  work.  Of  course  the  great  ad- 
vantage of  any  power  sprayer  over  other  types  of  pumps  is  the 
high  and  relatively  constant  pressure  that  it  develops.     With 


SPRAY  PUMPS 


183 


a  3 
...  o 

~.  a. 


184 


SPRAYING  APPARATUS 


the  gasolene  type  the  owner  may  also  easily  adapt  it  to  doing 
other  kinds  of  work,  such  as  pumping  and  sawing  wood.  There 
are  many  different  styles  of  gasolene  outfits,  from  one  costing 
one  hundred  dollars  and  using  a  one  and  one-half  horse-power 
engine  and  a  hundred-gallon  tank,  up  to  a  twelve  hundred  dollar 
machine  with  a  ten  horse-power  engine  and  a  three-  or  four- 
hundred-gallon  tank.  Of  late  several  good  forms  of  the  small 
machine  have  been  developed  which  seem  to  give  promise  of 
great  usefulness  (Fig.  83).    They  are  especially  acceptable  where 


Fig.  84A. — Old  style  of  vermorel  nozzle.     This  type   hag  the  serious  ■weakness  that  the 
ejectors  are  constantly  catching  on  the  branches  of  the  tree. 

Fia.  845. — Angle  vermorel  nozzle.     This  type  has  great  advantages  over  the  last;  it  has  no 
ejectors  and  it  delivers  the  spray  at  an  angle. 


good,  reliable  labor  is  scarce.  AVith  one  of  these  machines  a 
man,  if  "put  to  it,"  can  do  his  spraying  alone,  and  they  are  light 
enough  to  get  about  on  relatively  rough  land  and  cheap  enough 
so  that  the  small  orchardist  can  afford  to  buy  one.  One  of  these 
machines  will  easily  take  care  of  two  or  even  three  small 
orchards,  so  that  if  a  man  is  on  sufficiently  good  terms  with  his 
neighbors  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  his  clubbing  in  with  one 


NOZZLES 


185 


Fig.  85 a. 


FiQ.  85S. 


or  two  of  thom  and  thus  bringing  the  cost  of  his  power  outfit 
nearly  down  to  that  of  a  good  barrel  pump. 

Nozzles. — Next  to  the  pump  in  importance,  in  fact  more 
important  in  some  ways,  is  the  nozzle.  The  number  and  variety 
of  them  on  the  market  would  bewilder  a  novice,  yet  they  may 
nearly  all  be  reduced  to  three  or  four  principal  types. 

The  Vermorel  Type. — This 
is  a  relatively  small  nozzle  and 
delivers  a  small  amount  of 
liquid  as  compared  with  other 
types.  This  shortcoming  is 
usually  gotten  around  by  mak- 
ing them  in  clusters  of  two  or 
more,  but  of  course  such  a  nozzle 
is  heavy  and  therefore  hard  to 
use  (Figs.  84.1  and  84B).  This 
type  gives  a  very  fine,  mist-like 
spray,  but  the  small  size  of  the 
orifice  renders  it  very  liable  to 
clog,  and  tliis  in  turn  makes  it 
necessary  to  have  some  kind  of 
ejector  to  push  out  the  clog. 
This  means  a  double  annoyance, 
first  because  one  must  constantly 
stop  and  clean  the  nozzle  and 

-It  ii  •       .  •       a  relatively  coarse  snrav    which   is    fre- 

second    because    the    ejector    is  quentiy  objectionable 

,.,,.            ,1                   J.11-             1.  Fig.  85S. — Disc  nozzle.    This  i.s  rapidly 

liable  to  catch  upon  the  branches  displacing  other  types  for  most  work.    It 

,    .      .             ,                          ,  ,             .       ,  seldom  clogs,  does  not  catch  on  branches, 

and  twigs  when   one   attempts  to  makes  a  fine  spray,  and  delivers  a  large 

, ,       .       .  ,         „  , ,       ,               -n  amount  of  material  in  a  given  time. 

spray  the  mside  oi  the  tree.    JB  or 

these  reasons  the  vermorel  has  largely  gone  out  of  use  except 
with  smaller  pumps  like  the  knapsack,  where  it  is  still  the  main 
type  used. 

llie  old  Bordeaux  nozzle  is  still  largely  used  in  many  sec- 
tions. It  thi-ows  a  relatively  coarse  spray,  which  is  not  suited 
to  many  kinds  of  work.  It  will  throw  a  long  distance,  which  is 
very  important  for  high  trees,  and  for  such  spraying  as  the 


Fig.    S5A. — Bordeaux  nozzle.      Useful 
in  spraying  tall  trees,  as  it  will  throw  the 
ly  material  a  long  distance,  but  it  makes 
sla  ■      ■ 


186  SPRAYING  APPARATUS 

winter  application  of  lime-sulfnr  it  is  excellent.  It  is  not 
likely  to  clog,  and  can  be  adjusted  to  throw  anything  from  a 
solid  stream  to  a  fairly  fine  spray.     (Fig.  85A). 

The  disc  type  of  nozzle  is  shown  in  Figure  855.  This  has  been 
on  the  market  a  relatively  short  time  but  is  rapidly  displacing  the 
other  types  for  most  kinds  of  spraying.  It  has  three  advantages : 
First,  it  does  not  catch  on  the  branches  of  the  trees ;  second,  it 
throws  a  relatively  fine  spray  and  lots  of  it ;  and,  third,  it  seldom 
clogs.  For  most  spraying  the  orchardist  should  choose  this  type 
of  nozzle. 


Fig.  86. — Long-  and  short-tailed  hose  couplings.     The  former  are  much  to  be  preferred,  as 
they  do  not  allow  the  hose  to  pull  apart  so  easily. 

Spray  Guns.  The  spray  gun  consists  of  a  very  short  but  heavy 
brass  rod,  with  usually  a  single,  large  disc  nozzle.  Its  great 
advantage  is  in  the  saving  of  time.  With  plenty  of  pressure 
behind  it  (at  least  250  pounds),  and  with  careful  workmen  it  will 
give  excellent  results.  Spray  the  centre  of  the  tree  first  and  then 
the  outside.  And  do  not  stand  too  close  to  the  tree  otherwise  he 
force  with  which  the  liquid  is  delivered  is  likely  to  bruise  the 
tissues  of  the  leaves  which  may  be  followed  by  serious  spraying 
injury.  One  should  also  use  hose  not  less  than  %-inch  in 
diameter. 

The  Angle  of  Delivery. — Any  nozzle,  of  whatever  type,  is 
very  much  more  efficient  for  most  work  if  it  delivers  the  spray 
at  an  angle  of  45°  instead  of  straight  ahead.  Many  nozzles  are 
made  this  way  by  the  manufacturers,  and  others  can  be  changed 
into  this  type  by  introducing  a  small  angle  connection  between 
the  nozzle  and  the  extension  rod.     The  advantage  of  the  angle 


THE  HOSE 


187 


nozzle  is  that  the  direction  of  the  spray  may  be  changed  by 
simply  twisting-  the  extension  rod,  while  with  tlie  straight  nozzle 
the  whole  rod  must  be  moved. 

The  Hose. — A  third  important  feature  of  the  spraying 
outfit  is  the  hose.  It  has  little  effect  on  the  kind  of  spraying 
done,  but  it  does  make  a  difference  to  the  man  who  does  the 
spraying. 

The  writer  is  very  strongly  in  favor  of  a  reasonably  small 
hose,  preferably  about  one-fourth  inch  in  diameter.  It  is  true 
there  is  some  loss  of  pressure  as  compared  with  the  large  hose, 
but  the  greater  ease  and  comfort  of  doing  the  work  will  far 
more  than  offset  this  loss.  The  following  table  gives  the  weights 
of  various  kinds  and  sizes  of  hose.  If  anyone  who  is  accustomed 
to  using  the  large  size  will  once  try  the  small  size  he  will  never  go 
back  again.  It  is  like  play  in  comparison,  and  anything  which 
makes  spraying  seem  playful,  even  in  the  remotest  degree,  ought 
to  be  adopted. 


Tabi,e  V. — Comparison  of  Weights  of  Hose  of  Different  Sizes 


Length 

Size 

Kind  of  Hose 

Weight  Empty 

Weight  Full 

lbs. 

lbs. 

25  ft. 

3/4    ill. 

Rubber 

10.S7 

13.56 

25  ft. 

1/2    in. 

Rubber 

G.6G 

9.16 

25  ft. 

1/4    in. 

Rubber 

4.11 

4.45 

25  ft. 

3/16  in. 

Special    cloth- 

covered 

1.00 

1.75 

When  buying  hose  get  plenty  of  it.  The  ordinary  spray  out- 
fit equipped  with  8  to  15  feet  of  hose  is  a  "  delusion  and  a  snare. ' ' 
The  operator  has  to  adjust  his  machine  almost  as  carefully  as  he 
would  a  cannon  in  order  to  even  hit  the  tree.  Twenty-five  feet 
is  the  least  any  outfit  ought  to  have,  and  if  two  leads  of  hose 
are  used  let  one  be  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  and  the  other  fifty. 
"With  the  small  hose  this  is  not  unduly  heavy  and  the  spraying 


188  SPRAYING  APPARATUS 

can  be  done  with  an  ease  and  comfort  and  thoroughness  im- 
possible with  the  short  lengths  (see  types  of  couplings,  Fig.  86). 
The  Extension  Rod. — In  addition  to  these  more  important 
parts  the  outfit  should  have  an  extension  rod  on  each  lead  of 
hose.  This  may  be  either  an  iron  rod  or  a  bamboo  lined  with  a 
brass  tube.  The  latter  is  preferred  because  it  is  much  lighter 
and  its  larger  size  makes,  it  easier  to  handle,  but  the  iron  rod  is 
certainly  much  cheaper  and  does  not  break  as  easily.  There 
should  also  be  at  least  one,  and  preferably  two  cut-offs  for  each 
lead  of  hose.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  one  at  the  base 
of  the  extension  rod  so  that  the  operator  may  shut  off  the  liquid 
at  will,  and  it  is  very  desirable  to  have  a  second  one  at  the 
pump,  if  there  are  two  lines  of  hose,  so  that  in  case  of  accident 
to  one  line  it  may  be  shut  down  for  repairs,  while  the  other  may 
continue  to  operate. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  \^niat  are  the  good  and  bad  points  of  the  bucket  ijump? 

2.  Discuss  the  knapsack  sprayer. 

3.  What  can  you  say  of  the  barrel  pump? 

4.  Give  the  important  points  of  a  good  barrel  pump. 

5.  What  are  the  advantages  of  the  double-action  liand  pump? 

6.  Name  the  different  types  of  power  sprayers. 

7.  Give  the  special  advantages  of  each  type. 

8.  Describe  the  Vermorel  type  of  nozzle. 

9.  What  are  the  advantages  of  the  disc  type  of  nozzles? 

10.  ^^^ly  is  an  angle  nozzle  preferred  to  a  straight  one? 

11.  Give  some  points  to  be  considered  in  the  purchase  of  spray  hose. 

12.  What  type  of  extension  spray-rod  would  you  prefer?     Give  reason. 

13.  What   power  sprayers  and  what   type  of  hand  sprayers   are  used   in 

your  section? 


CHAPTER  XIV 
SPRAYING  MATERIALS 

The  selection  of  spray  materials  is  just  about  as  confusing  to 
the  beginner  as  is  the  choice  of  spray  apparatus.  There  are 
many  manufacturers  in  the  field  and  each  one  is  putting  on  the 
market  his  own  special  brand  of  each  of  the  different  materials, 
so  that  there  are  almost  innumerable  things  to  be  had.  If  the 
orchardist  wants  a  spray  made  from  a  copper  salt  he  has  his 
choice  between  Bordo-lead,  Sal-Bordeaux,  Pyrox,  Tiger  Brand 
Bordeaux  and  a  dozen  other  patent  preparations.  If  he  wants 
to  use  sulfur  in  some  form  he  is  embarrassed  by  an  even  longer 
list  of  possibilities.  He  can  buy  commercial  lime-sulfur  of  a 
dozen  different  manufacturers,  or  he  can  make  his  own  con- 
centrate or  make  the  home-boiled  wash,  or  use  self-boiled  lime- 
sulfur.  Or,  again,  he  can  use  atomic  sulfur,  soluble  sulfur,  sul- 
focide  or  various  other  special  forms.  The  list  of  any  of  these 
principal  sprays  is  so  long  that  even  the  old  stager  is  sometimes 
in  doubt.  Is  it  any  wonder  if  the  novice  feels  like  giving  up  in 
despair?  Yet  if  we  wdll  study  into  the  matter  it  is  not  as  bad 
as  it  seems  on  the  face  of  the  returns. 

Doubtless  new  materials,  and  new  combinations  of  old  ma- 
terials, will  continue  to  come  along,  so  that  what  was  the  best 
thing  possible  this  year  may  be  out  of  date  a  few  years  to  come. 
This  is  going  to  make  it  necessary  to  do  some  experimenting  all 
the  time  and  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  Experiment  Stations  and 
the  Fruit  Growers'  meetings.  But  all  orchardists  should  do  this 
anyway.  When  the  list  of  spray  materials  in  vogue  at  any  one 
time  is  sifted  down  it  will  be  found  that  there  are  really  only  a 
relatively  small  number  that  have  to  be  considered.  If  a  man 
buys  from  reputable  manufacturers  he  is  not  apt  to  go  far 
wrong,  even  though  he  may  not  get  absolutely  the  best  form. 

Commercial  Mixtures  vs.  Home  Mixing. — There  are  two 
or  three  general  questions  that  ought  to  be  discussed  before  we 


190  SPRAYING  MATERIALS 

speak  of  specific  remedies.  The  most  important  of  these  is  the 
question  of  buying  the  mixtures  already  prepared  or  of  buying 
the  materials  and  preparing  the  mixtures  on  the  farm:  com- 
mercial mixtures  vs.  home  mixing.  There  are  certain  things 
like  arsenate  of  lead  which  cannot  be  made  as  well  at  home  as 
they  can  by  the  manufacturer.  ]\Ioreover,  the  price  for  these  is 
relatively  low  because  so  many  firms  are  manufacturing  them. 
It  seems,  therefore,  much  better  for  any  grower,  large  or  small, 
to  buy  ready-made  stock  of  such  materials. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  certain  other  things  such  as  the 
various  substitutes  for  Bordeaux  mixture  which  often  come  at  a 
high  price  to  the  orchardist  and  which  it  is  relatively  easy  to 
make  on  the  farm.  It  would  seem  that  such  mixtures  might  be 
prepared  by  the  grower,  at  least  when  he  is  operating  on  a 
reasonably  large  scale.  If  a  man  has  only  a  few  trees  probably 
it  is  better  for  him  to  pay  the  manufacturer  his  extra  price  for 
doing  the  mixing,  rather  than  to  bother  to  "post  up  "  on  methods, 
and  then  go  to  all  the  trouble  of  getting  the  different  ingredients 
and  combining  them.  But  for  the  man  who  has  as  much  as 
ten  acres  of  orchard  the  writer  is  very  strongly  of  the  opinion 
that  it  pays  to  prepare  these  mixtures  at  home. 

Classify  Spray  Materials. — Another  point  which  has  already 
been  mentioned  is  the  need  of  getting  all  these  remedies  classified 
in  one's  mind  so  that  he  understands  which  are  insecticides  and 
which  are  fungicides  and  which  are  a  combination  of  both. 

Dusting. — A  third  general  question  is  the  relative  value  of 
spra^^ng  and  dusting.  In  many  sections  the  latter  has  come  to  be 
largely  used,  particularly  for  controlling  insects  and  diseases  of 
peaches.  And  in  a  few  sections,  notably  the  Annapolis  Valley, 
Nova  Scotia,  it  has  to  a  considerable  extent  displaced  spraying. 
But  in  most  sections  spraying  is  still  the  main  reliance  and  dust- 
ing is  used  for  supplementary  work  where  rapidity  of  applica- 
tion is  the  all  important  factor. 

Copper  Salts. — We  come  now  to  a  consideration  of  some  of 
the  principal  spray  materials  which  are  used  by  the  fruit  grower. 
Moreover,  up  to  the  present  time  satisfactory  dusts  for  dormant 
applications  have  not  been  developed,  though  of  course  they  may 
be  in  the  future. 


COPPER  SALTS  191 

Among  the  fungicides  the  two  principal  substances  used  are  some 
copper  salt  and  some  form  of  sulfur. 

Copper  Sulfate.— Oi  the  copper  salts  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant is  copper  sulfate,  which  is  used  either  in  the  form  of  a 
plain  solution  on  dormant  trees  or  as  Bordeaux  mixture.  This 
plain  solution  has  the  advantage  of  being  as  easy  to  apply  as 
water,  and  where  the  grower  does  not  Have  to  fight  any  scale 


FiQ.  87. — Spray  injury  on  apples.     Any  copper  salt  is  likely  to  cause  this  under  certain  con- 
ditions of  weather. 

insects,  especially  San  Jose  scale,  it  makes  an  excellent  dormant 
spray.  It  is  usually  applied  at  the  strength  of  3  or  4  pounds 
of  copper  sulfate  to  50  gallons  of  water. 

Bordeaux  Mixture. — Where  it  can  be  used  without  danger, 
Bordeaux  mixture  is  still  probably  the  most  efficient  fungicide 
on  the  list.  There  seem  to  be  two  dangers  from  its  use.  On 
apples,  in  certain  seasons,  especially  where  there  are  many  rains 
or  a  great  deal  of  foggy  weather,  it  may  produce  a  russeting 
of  the  surface  of  the  fruit  that  injures  its  appearance  and  some- 
times its  keeping  quality  (Fig.  87).  This  damage  is  sometimes 
very  severe,  in  particularly  bad  cases  even  cracking  the  fruit 
open.      It   affects  some  varieties  more  than   others.      In   some 


192  SPRAYING  MATERIALS 

sections  where  there  is  not  much  trouble  from  the  apple  scab, 
more  harm  than  good  is  often  done  to  the  fruit  by  spraying  with 
Bordeaux.  Another  trouble  that  is  sometimes  experienced  with 
it  is  that  it  aggravates  the  tendency,  frequently  seen  in  fruit  trees, 
for  the  leaves  to  turn  yellow  or  brown  and  to  fall. 

Yet  with  all  its  faults  Bordeaux  is  such  an  efficient  fungicide 
that  it  ought  to  be  used  whenever  it  can  be  without  too  much 
danger.  For  example,  it  ought  to  be  used  on  all  such  fruits  as 
grapes,  currants  and  gooseberries  because  here  it  does  no  damage 
and  these  fruits  are  especially  liable  to  damage  from  fungous 
enemies.  Many  good  orchardists  prefer  to  use  it,  particularly 
on  those  varieties  not  seriously  injured  by  it,  where  apple  scab  is 
especially  troublesome,  because  a  considerable  russeting  of  the 
skin  is  to  be  preferred  to  even  a  small  amount  of  scab. 

Formulas  for  Bordeaux. — There  are  two  formulas  for  Bor- 
deaux mixture  which  are  in  general  use  at  the  present  time.  One 
which  is  used  most  generally  is  as  follows : 

4  pounds  copper  sulfate,  4  pounds  lime,  50  gallons  water. 

For  those  fruits  or  varieties  which  are  most  susceptible  to 
injury,  such  as  Japanese  plums,  peaches,  and  certain  varieties  of 
apples,  a  weaker  formula  is  used,  made  as  follows : 

3  pounds  copper  sulfate,  3  pounds  lime,  50  gallons  water. 

Stock  Solutions  for  Bordeaux. — Where  Bordeaux  is  to  be  used 
in  any  quantity  it  is  much  better  to  use  in  preparing  it  what  are 
called  ' '  stock  solutions. ' '    These  are  prepared  as  follows : 

Weigh  out  50  pounds  of  copper  sulfate  and  dissolve  it  in  50 
gallons  of  water,  by  hanging  it  in  a  cotton  bag  in  the  top  of  a 
barrel  of  water.  It  will  dissolve  much  more  quickly  in  this  way 
than  if  thrown  into  the  barrel.  In  fact,  it  never  will  dissolve  if 
merely  thrown  into  the  barrel,  as  the  water  immediately  sur- 
rounding the  crystals  soon  becomes  saturated  and  as  this  solution 
is  heavier  than  plain  water  it  remains  right  in  the  bottom  of  the 
barrel.  The  amounts  mentioned  give  us  one  pound  of  copper 
sulfate  to  each  gallon  of  water. 


THE  VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  SULPHUR  193 

The  "stock  solution"  of  lime  is  prepared  in  the  same  general 
way.  Fifty  pounds  of  lime  is  slacked  in  a  barrel,  taking  care 
to  use  enough  water  to  prevent  the  lime  from  ' '  burning, "  as  it  is 
called,  which  makes  it  tlaky  so  that  it  is  likely  to  clog  the  nozzles. 
After  it  is  slacked  enough  water  is  added  to  make  50  gallons. 

With  the  stock  solutions  thus  prepared  the  making  of  a  cask 
of  Bordeaux  mixture  is  a  very  simple  matter.  The  ideal  way 
is  to  have  two  half  barrels,  into  one  of  which  we  measure  four 
gallons  of  the  copper  sulfate  solution  and  into  the  other  four 
gallons  of  the  lime  water.  Then  add  to  each  enough  water  to 
make  25  gallons.  Next  pour  the  diluted  lime  into  the  spray 
cask,  add  the  copper  sulfate  solution,  agitate  thoroughly  and  the 
mixture  is  ready  to  apply.  Or,  better  yet,  the  two  solutions  may 
be  allowed  to  run  into  the  cask  simultaneously.  A  man  may  in- 
troduce several  variations  in  the  procedure  and  still  be  quite 
successful,  but  the  thing  which  must  be  avoided  always  is  mixing 
the  lime  and  copper  sulfate  in  concentrated  solutions.  This 
invariably  leads  to  trouble,  a  thick,  cheesy  precipitate  being 
formed  which  will  clog  the  nozzles  and  will  not  stick  to  the  trees, 
and  is  unsatisfactory  in  various  other  ways. 

Now  is  there  anything  so  complicated  in  this  operation  of 
preparing  Bordeaux  mixture  that  a  good,  intelligent  orchardist 
cannot  master  it?  The  writer  would  vote  most  emphatically 
"  no  "  and  has  no  patience  with  those  who  argue  that  ready-made 
Bordeaux  should  be  bought  because  the  farmer  cannot  prepare  it 
properly.  There  may  be  something  in  the  ar^^ument  of  saving 
time  and  bother,  but  not  in  the  argument  of  "lack  of  ability." 

The  Various  Forms  of  Sulfur. — Just  at  the  present  time 
there  seems  to  be  a  very  marked  interest  in  sulfur  sprays.  New 
forms  are  constantly  being  introduced  by  manufacturers  and 
many  growers  are  using  them  to  the  exclusion  of  most  other 
sprays.  There  are  four  forms  which  it  seems  worth  while  to 
discuss  at  some  length. 

1.  The  Commercial  Lime-sulfur  Solutions. — These  come  as 
more  or  less  clear,  amber-colored  liquids  which  mix  readily  with 
water,  giving  a  yellow  liquid.  They  come  at  various  strengths, 
varying  about  30°  to  perhaps  35°  Beaume   (hydrometer  test), 


194  SPRAYING  MATERIALS 

the  test  supposedly  varying  with  the  amount  of  sulfur  in  solu- 
tion. As  a  matter  of  fact  a  handful  of  salt  or  various  other 
cheap  materials  will  raise  the  strength  as  indicated  by  this 
hydrometer  test  just  as  surely  as  more  sulfur  will,  so  that  the 
only  reliable  standard  is  the  per  cent  of  sulfur  in  solution. 

In  preparing  these  commercial  lime-sulfur  sprays  for  use 
in  the  orchard  the  common  method  is  to  dilute  them  by  taking 
a  certain  number  of  gallons  of  water  to  each  gallon  of  the  con- 
centrate. This  is  not  a  reliable  method  because,  as  already  sug- 
gested, the  concentrate  may  vary  from  30°  to  35°  Beaume.  The 
latter  would  give  the  proper  strength  for  San  Jose  scale  by 
diluting  with  dYi  gallons  of  water,  while  the  former  could  take 
only  71/^  gallons  of  water  to  each  gallon  of  the  concentrate. 

A  hydrometer  should  therefore  be  used  to  test  the  concen- 
trate and  again  to  test  the  spray  when  ready  to  apply  to  the 
trees.  The  hydrometer  is  a  simple  instrument,  consisting  of  a 
graduated  glass  tube  weighted  with  shot  at  the  lower  end.  This 
is  immersed  in  the  liquid  to  be  tested  and  the  lighter  the  liquid 
the  more  deeply  the  hydrometer  sinks.  The  reading  is  taken  at 
the  surface  of  the  liquid.  Most  hydrometers  give  both  the 
specific  gravity  and  the  Beaume  strength.  Anyone  can  therefore 
tell  by  the  use  of  this  instrument,  and  by  knowing  what  strength 
he  should  have  for  a  certain  pest,  just  exactly  how  much  water 
to  use,  provided  that  he  has  confidence  in  the  manufacturer  and 
knows  it  is  sulfur  and  not  salt  in  the  solution.  This  is  quite  a 
proviso,  but  most  manufacturers,  no  doubt,  intend  to  be  honest 
and  if  the  buyer  selects  a  reputable  brand  he  is  not  likely  to  get 
into  any  serious  trouble. 

The  Saving  and  the  Cost. — The  great  advantage  of  the  com- 
mercial lime-sulfur  solutions  is  that  they  save  all  the  annoyance 
and  messiness  of  home  preparation.  And  this  is  a  great  deal. 
They  are  also  very  simple  to  use. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  buyer  pays  considerably  more  for  a 
hundred  gallons  of  spray  by  this  method  than  he  does  to  prepare 
his  own  concentrate. 

2.  Home-made  Concentrate. — This  is  the  same  material,  in  a 
general  way,  as  the  commercial,  but  it  does  not  run  as  high  in 


THE  VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  SULPHUR  195 

sulfur  content.  The  great  advantage  of  this  form  is  tliat  it  can 
be  made  up  on  the  farm  during  the  winter  when  work  is  slack 
and  when  the  labor  expense  is  relatively  small.  The  general 
method  of  preparation  is  as  follows,  though  formulas  and  methods 
are  still  undergoing  changes : 

Formula. — 50  pounds  rock  lime,  100  pounds  sulfur,  50  gallons  water. 

It  seems  to  be  immaterial  whether  the  sulfur  is  the  flour 
(finely  ground)  or  the  flowers,  but  the  lime  should  be  good  and 
should  preferably  have  little  magnesium  in  it.  Slack  the  lime  in 
the  kettle  in  which  the  cooking  is  to  be  done  and  when  the  slacking 
is  well  started  add  the  sulfur  and  mix  thoroughly.  Then  add 
enough  water  to  make  a  thin  paste.  Continue  boiling  vigorously 
until  the  sulfur  is  all  dissolved,  which  will  usually  take  from 
forty-five  minutes  to  one  hour.  When  the  boiling  is  finished  the 
concentrate  may  be  put  into  barrels  and  stored.  If  these  barrels 
are  perfectly  tight  and  are  filled  full,  no  other  precaution  is  neces- 
sary than  to  cork  up  tightly.  If  these  conditions  do  not  obtain 
then  the  concentrate  must  be  covered  with  oil.  Any  oil  which 
will  not  injure  the  trees  and  which  does  not  take  fire  at  the 
boiling  point  of  water  will  do,  and  the  various  miscible  oils  are 
used  with  entire  satisfaction.  There  is  sometimes  considerable 
sediment,  but  this   does  not  seem  to  be  a  serious   objection. 

The  proper  degree  of  dilution  either  with  the  home-made  or 
the  commercial,  as  measured  by  the  specific  gravity  scale  on  the 
hydrometer,  seems  to  be  about  as  follows:  For  San  Jose  scale, 
blister  mite,  peach  leaf  curl  and  other  spraying  when  trees  are 
in  dormant  condition,  1.03.  For  apple  and  pear  scab  and  similar 
diseases,  summer  spray,  1.01.  For  peach  scab  and  brown  rot, 
summer  spra^',  1.005.  It  is  probably  better  not  to  use  this  material 
at  all  in  spraying  the  stone  fruits,  especially  peaches  and  Japanese 
plums  as  while  it  will  often  do  no  harm,  it  will,  on  the  other 
hand,  sometimes  do  serious  injury  to  the  leaves. 

3.  The  ''  self-hoiled  "  lime-sulfur  is  that  in  which  the  heat 
of  the  slacking  lime  is  relied  upon  to  cook  the  mixture.  It  is  a 
very  mild  form,  being  little  more  than  a  mechanical  mixture  of 
sulfur  and  slacked  lime,  and  is  useful  only  as  a  summer  fungicide. 


196  SPRAYING  MATERIALS 

But  for  that  purpose,  particularly  for  use  against  the  brown  rot 
of  stone  fruits,  it  is  very  efficient. 
The  usual  formula  is  as  follows : 

8  pounds  sulfur,  8  pounds  rock  lime,  50  gallons  water. 

An  old  oil  cask  is  a  good  receptacle  in  which  to  prepare  it. 
The  lime  is  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  cask,  and  it  is  imperative 
that  it  be  good,  hard  rock  lime  and  not  air-slacked  lime,  since 
the  heat  for  cooking  is  to  come  entirely  from  the  lime.  On  top 
of  the  lime  place  the  sulfur.  Then  add  hot  water  slowly  until 
the  lime  is  slacked,  stirring  carefully,  as  needed,  to  prevent  the 
"burning"  of  the  lime.  After  slacking  is  complete  allow  the 
mixture  to  stand  and  cook  for  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes,  depend- 
ing on  the  amount  of  heat  generated  by  the  lime,  keeping  the 
barrel  covered  Avith  an  old  burlap  to  keep  in  the  heat.  Then 
add  enough  water  to  make  50  gallons,  strain  into  the  spraying 
cask  and  apply  at  once.  Remember  this  is  merely  a  summer 
fungicide  and  has  no  value  for  San  Jose  scale  and  relatively 
little  as  a  dormant  fungicide. 

Dry  Forms  of  Sulfur  Compounds. — At  the  present  time  the 
most  interesting  of  the  special  forms  of  sulfur  on  the  market  are 
the  dry  forms  in  combination  with  other  substances  such  as 
calcium,  sodium  and  barium.  They  come  as  powders  of  varying 
degrees  of  fineness  and  dissolve  fairly  readily  in  water.  Some 
of  them  are  very  promising  and  of  course  all  have  the  advantage 
over  the  liquid  forms  that  they  eliminate  expense  in  handling. 
If  further  experiments  shall  show  they  are  efficient  under  all  con- 
ditions and  do  not  injure  foliage  they  ought  to  prove  of  value, 

**  Atomic  sulfur  "  is  another  form.  This  is  a  very  finely 
divided  paste  form  of  pure  sulfur  which  seems  promising,  but 
at  the  present  writing  needs  further  testing, 

INSECTICIDES 

There  are  two  general  classes  of  insecticides :  The  food-poisons, 
used  for  chewing  insects  and  of  usually  some  form  of  arsenic ; 
and  the  contact  spray  used  for  sucking  insects. 


ARSENATE  OF  LEAD  197 

In  the  first  of  these  classes,  at  the  present  time,  the  arsenate 
of  lead  is  used  much  more  generally  than  any  other  form,  with 
Paris  green  as  a  second.  Several  others  are  on  the  market  and 
are  used  to  a  limited  extent,  but  from  the  commercial  orchard 
standpoint  they  may  be  ignored. 

Arsenate  of  Lead. — The  great  advantages  of  arsenate  of  lead 
are  (1)  that  it  is  very  adhesive,  remaining  on  the  leaves  through 
the  entire  season;  (2)  that  it  is  finely  divided,  remaining  in  sus- 
pension much  longer  than  Paris  green;  and  (3)  that  it  is  usually 
harmless  to  foliage.  This  is  a  strong  combination  and  it  is  small 
wonder  that  arsenate  of  lead  is  so  generally  used.  It  is,  how- 
ever, sometimes  injurious  to  trees,  and  one  should  take  every 
precaution  possible  to  avoid  trouble. 

There  are  two  forms  on  the  market,  one  of  which,  known  as 
the  tri-plumbic  form,  has  a  higher  percentage  of  lead  and  no 
hydrogen ;  while  the  other,  known  as  the  standard,  has  a  higher 
percentage  of  arsenic  but  also  has  some  hydrogen  in  it.  This 
latter  form,  while  more  effective  pound  for  pound  in  killing 
insects,  is  also  more  dangerous  to  plants.  On  such  tender  foliage 
as  Japanese  plums  and  the  peach  it  is  sometimes  injurious. 
Arsenate  of  lead  can  be  had  either  as  a  paste  carrying  about  50 
per  cent,  of  water,  or  as  a  dry  powder.  The  dry  form  is  rapidly 
replacing  the  paste  as  the  cost  of  transportation  and  handling  is 
less,  and  it  is  much  less  work  to  get  it  mixed  with  water. 

Paris  Green. — The  only  advantage  of  Paris  green  is  that  in 
some  sections  it  is  more  easily  secured  than  arsenate  of  lead; 
and  possibly  we  might  add  a  second,  that  it  has  a  very  distinctive 
color  which  prevents  its  ever  being  mistaken  for  anything  else. 
There  is  now  little  danger  that  it  will  be  adulterated,  but  if 
anyone  wishes  to  test  it  he  may  easily  do  so.  Put  a  small  quantity 
of  Paris  green  in  a  glass  tube  or  bottle  and  pour  on  it  some  strong 
ammonia.  If  the  Paris  green  is  pure  it  will  all  dissolve,  if  not 
pure  there  will  be  some  sediment.  Tlie  value  of  this  test  rests  on 
the  fact  that  the  materials  generally  used  to  adulterate  Paris 
green  are  not  soluble  in  ammonia,  while  pure  Paris  green  is 
soluble  in  ammonia.    "When  some  cheap  material  which  is  soluble 


198  SPRAYING  MATERIALS 

is  discovered  the  test  "will  lose  its  value.  However,  with  our 
present  laws  and  methods  of  enforcing  them,  there  is  relatively 
little  danger  from  adulterated  materials. 

It  is  usually  recommended  to  use  Paris  green  at  the  rate  of 
four  ounces  to  50  gallons  of  water,  but  many  orchardists  use 
it  at  the  rate  of  five  or  six  ounces  to  50  gallons  on  the  theory  that 
poison  is  cheaper  than  labor,  and  at  the  latter  strength  they  are 
sure  of  killing  the  insect  enemies.  It  is  well  to  add  an  equal 
weight  of  lime  when  the  Paris  green  is  not  used  in  combination 
with  a  fungicide.  The  lime  combines  with  any  soluble  arsenic 
Avliieh  may  be  present. 

Contact  Insect  Sprays. — There  are  four  contact  insecticides 
which  are  verj^  commonly  used,  each  one  of  which  has  its 
good  points. 

Miscible  Oils. — First  of  all  there  are  the  soluble,  or,  more 
properly,  the  miscible,  oils.  There  are  several  of  them,  but  they 
all  agree  in  being  made  from  crude  petroleum  and  in  mixing 
more  or  less  readily  with  water.  They  are  intended  for  use  only 
on  dormant  trees  and  in  particular  for  fighting  the  San  Jose 
scale,  and  for  this  purpose  the  writer  has  found  them  very 
satisfactory  indeed.  They  have  the  advantage  over  lime-sulfur 
that  they  are  much  less  disagreeable  to  apply,  which  is  certainly 
an  important  consideration.  They  will  also  "  creep  "  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  branch,  thus  insuring  a  somewhat  better  distribution. 
While  these  oils  are  usually  bought  already  prepared,  they  can 
be  easily  made  at  home  and  frequently  at  some  saving  in  cost. 
However,  the  commercial  forms  are  usually  so  satisfactory  and 
they  are  sold  so  cheap  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  would  pay 
the  grower  to  make  his  own.  It  certainly  would  not  except  where 
he  is  in  the  orchard  business  in  a  large  way. 

Whale  Oil  Soap. — A  second  material  frequently  used  for  suck- 
ing insects  is  whale  oil  soap,  which  comes  as  an  ill-smelling 
sticky,  brown  soap.  Only  very  distant  relatives  of  the  whale 
enter  into  its  manufacture,  as  any  cheap  fish-oil  is  used  in  making 
it.  For  orchard  use  it  is  well  to  prepare  it  beforehand  by  boiling 
the  soap  with  a  certain  quantity  of  water.    This  gets  it  into  a  con- 


CONTACT  INSECT  SPRAYS  I99 

dition  where  it  will  readily  mix  with  water  when  wanted  for  use, 
and  if  this  ' '  stock  solution  ' '  is  made  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three 
pounds  per  gallon  it  is  a  very  simple  matter  to  prepare  a  batch 
of  spray  for  use  in  the  orchard.  It  is  generally  used  at  the  rate 
of  one  pound  of  the  soap  to  about  8  to  10  gallons  of  water. 

Kerosene  emulsion  is  another  very  efficient  remedy  for  such 
insects  as  the  aphis.  The  chief  objection  to  it  is  that  it  requires 
a  special  operation  to  make,  but  that  is  certainly  not  a  serious 
matter.    The  formula  is  as  follows: 

Vy  pound  of  hard  soap,  1  gallon  water,  2  gallons  kerosene. 

Cut  up  the  soap  and  dissolve  it  in  the  water  by  boiling.  Then 
remove  from  the  fire  and  add  the  kerosene ;  reheat  and  agitate 
the  mixture  violently.  A  good  way  to  do  this  is  to  have  a  small 
pump,  and  pump  the  liquid  back  into  itself  until  a  creamy  white 
mixture  is  produced.  This  is  a  "  stock  solution,"  and  ought  to 
keep  for  weeks  or  even  months  without  the  oil  separating  out.  It 
is  diluted  for  use  according  to  the  insect  to  be  attacked.  With 
aphids,  which  have  very  soft  bodies,  one  part  of  the  stock  solution 
to  ten  or  even  fifteen  parts  of  water  may  be  strong  enough.  For 
tliose  insects  which  are  more  difficult  to  kill,  such  as  the  San  Jose 
scale,  it  may  require  one  part  to  four  or  five  of  water. 

Tobacco  Extracts. — There  are  a  number  of  tobacco  extracts 
on  the  market  which  are  very  satisfactory  for  sucking  insects, 
especially  for  the  aphids.  In  the  Northwest  it  is  customary 
in  many  sections,  where  the  aphis  is  plentiful,  to  include  some 
form  of  tobacco  extract  with  the  regular  sprayings  for  fungous 
pests  and  chewung  insects  so  that  the  spray  kills  sucking  and 
chewing  insects  and  fungous  diseases  at  one  operation. 

Spreaders. — There  are  various  products,  usually  with  casein 
as  a  basis,  which  are  added  to  spraying  mixtures  with  the  object 
of  making  them  spread  more  evenly  over  the  foliage  and  fruit. 
At  the  present  time  they  are  coming  quite  largely  into  use  and 
seem  to  give  not  only  better  spreading  of  the  materials,  but  greater 
adhesiveness  and  less  chemical  action  between  such  materials  as 
lime-sulfur  and  arsenate  of  lead. 


200  SPRAYING  MATERIALS 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Discuss   the   importance   to    the    orchardist   of   a    knowledge   of    spray 

materials. 

2.  Under  what  conditions  is  it  best  for  the  orchardist  to  prepare  his  own 

spray  mixtures? 

3.  What  are  some  of  the  objections  to  the  use  of  Bordeaux  mixture? 

4.  Describe   the   preparation   of   stock    solutions    for   Bordeaux.      What   is 

the  advantage  of  these  solutions? 

5.  Describe  the  making  of  Bordeaux  mixture  from  these  stock  solutions 

6.  What  is  commercial  lime-sulphur?     How  is  it  used? 

7.  Describe  the  home-made  lime-sulfur  concentrate. 

8.  Tell  how  to  make  self-boiled  lime  sulfur. 

9.  Give  the  advantages  of  arsenate  of  lead  as  an  insecticide. 

10.  Give  directions  for  the  use  of  Paris  green. 

11.  What  are  miscible  oils? 

12.  Why  are  oils  especially  valuable  in  killing  scale  insects? 

13.  Give  the  formula  for  kerosene  emulsion  and  describe  the  methods  oi 

preparing  and  using  it. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  SPRAYING  CAMPAIGN 

Disagreeable  but  Necessary. — If  anyone  were  to  take  a  vote 
of  the  orchanl  men  of  the  country  as  to  which  is  the  messiest 
and  most  thoroughly  disagreeable  operation  connected  with  grow- 
ing fruit,  spraying  woald  be  elected  unanimously  to  the  position. 
There  is  no  question  about  that.  Neither  is  there  any  question 
that  it  is  more  important  than  any  other  one  operation.  We 
may  neglect  to  prune  our  trees,  Ave  may  fail  to  fertilize  them 
and  we  may  grow  them  in  a  hay  field  and  still  we  may  frequently 
grow  some  very  good  fruit.  But  the  man  who  can  proudly 
boast  that  he  did  not  spray  his  orchard  and  still  had  a  crop  of 
fine  fruit  is  in  a  hopeless  and  ever-dwindling  minority.  He  is 
still  to  be  found ;  occasionally  he  even  gets  into  a  fruit  meeting, 
but  his  days  are  numbered.  The  advent  of  each  new  pest 
makes  the  non-spraying  orchardist  more  rare,  until  he  will  soon  be 
worthy  of  a  place  in  a  dime  museum. 

Now  since  spraying  is  so  disagi^eeable  and  yet  so  indispen- 
sable, the  thing  for  the  orchardist  to  do  is  to  use  the  best  ma- 
chinery and  the  most  approved  materials  and  then  to  fix  his  mind 
on  the  good  he  is  doing  and  not  on  how  disagreeable  the  work  is. 
After  all,  if  the  operator  does  use  the  best  apparatus  and  does 
protect  himself  as  fully  as  possible  with  gloves  and  a  hood  he 
can  get  through  the  job  with  a  fair  degree  of  comfort,  particu- 
larly if,  as  suggested,  he  thinks  about  the  wormy  apples  he  is  not 
going  to  raise.  While  the  writer  thoroughly  believes  this,  and  is 
satisfied  that  anyone  who  once  gets  at  it  will  find  that  it  is  not 
as  bad  as  it  might  be,  still  he  has  a  great  deal  of  sympathy  with 
the  novice  who  feels  rather  appalled  at  the  prospect  of  under- 
taking the  work. 

As  the  beginner  looks  over  even  the  condensed  list  of  enemies 
given  in  this  book,  and  as  he  notes  that  this  one  requires  spraying 

20X 


202  THE  SPRAYING  CAMPAIGN 

after  the  blossoms  fall  and  that  one  before  the  buds  swell;  and 
then  as  he  attempts  to  select  a  satisfactory  spraying  outfit  from 
the  bewildering  array  in  even  one  catalogue  (and  usually  he  has 
half  a  dozen  catalogues  at  the  very  least),  it  is  no  wonder  that 
he  feels  as  though  it  was  a  hopeless  undertaking.  And  yet  as 
he  sifts  matters  out  he  finds  that  most  of  the  spraying  outfits  are 
a  good  deal  alike,  and  that  most  of  the  pests  are  accommodating 
enough  to  group  themselves  in  such  a  way  that  a  relatively  few 
sprayings  will  control  them  all.  So  that  while  spraying  is  un- 
doubtedly bad  enough,  and  while  the  necessity  for  it  may 
properly  be  catalogued  as  one  reason  why  the  orchard  business 
will  not  be  over-done,  yet  any  good,  intelligent  man  will  very 
soon  master  the  essential  details  of  the  work. 

Good  spraying  consists  in  selecting  the  right  materials,  in 
getting  these  onto  the  trees  at  the  right  time,  applying  a  uniform 
strength  to  all  parts  of  the  trees  and  in  doing  the  work  easily 
and  economically  and  with  reasonable  comfort. 

Making  up  and  Applying. — We  have  already  discussed 
everything  except  the  work  of  making  up  and  applying.  Let 
us  see  what  can  be  said  to  assist  in  this  operation. 

In  the  first  place,  the  orchardist  should  have  every  con- 
venience to  make  as  easy  as  possible  the  work  of  preparing  the 
mixtures  and  getting  them  into  the  spray  tank.  Few  people 
realize  how  much  time  and  money  are  wasted  by  failing  to 
provide  for  this.  To  begin  with,  have  a  platform  sufficiently 
raised  to  allow  the  materials  to  run  by  gravity  into  the  spray 
tank.  On  this  platform  are  located  the  stock  solutions  and 
other  paraphernalia  used  in  the  mixing.  Know  just  where  to 
find  everything  that  is  wanted,  instead  of  having  to  hunt  all 
over  the  place  for  the  arsenate  of  lead  or  the  strainer,  A  very 
convenient  outfit  of  the  kind  is  shown  in  Figure  82.  Then  have 
a  convenient  and  abundant  water  supply.  It  is  nothing  un- 
common for  a  spraying  gang  to  spend  more  than  half  the  time 
loading  up,  and  most  of  this  is  often  spent  in  getting  the  water. 
Sometimes  this  is  unavoidable,  but  frequently  a  little  time  and 
money  spent  wisely  in  advance  will  completely  obviate  the 
trouble.     To  offset  the  money  so  spent  it  must  be  remembered 


FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES  203 

that  the  time  of  a  spraying  gang  is  worth  money  and  whatever 
conserves  that  time  is  worth  doing. 

The  ideal  plan  is  to  have  a  large  storage  tank,  such  as  is 
shown  in.  Figure  82,  with  a  ball-cock  to  control  the  water 
running  into  it.  This  tank  fills  up  w^hile  the  gang  is  in  the 
orchard  and  is  all  ready  when  they  come  in  to  fill  the  spray 
tank.  A  large  gate  on  the  storage  tank  allows  the  water  to  run 
from  this  into  the  spray  tank  in  a  very  few  minutes,  frequently 
in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  prepare  the  arsenate  of  lead  and 
lime-sulfur,  or  whatever  is  being  used  for  spraying. 

Get  Things  in  Readiness  Early. — Order  the  sulfur  and  lime 
and  arsenate  of  lead  and  all  the  other  materials  and  have  them 
on  hand.  Go  over  the  outfit  and  clean  it  up  and  repair  it.  This 
is  good  work  for  winter  or  for  rainy  days,  and  will  save  any 
amount  of  annoyance  when  spraying  actually  begins. 

Have  a  good  repair  kit  to  take  into  the  orchard  while  spray- 
ing. This  outfit  ought  to  contain  wrenches  of  several  kinds 
(particularly  a  stilson),  pliers  which  will  cut  wire  and  wire  for 
them  to  cut,  washers,  nozzles  and  extra  small  parts  of  every 
description.  A  few  dollars  invested  in  such  a  kit  will  save  ten 
times  the  cost  the  first  season  in  the  time  it  wrill  save  running 
to  the  house,  or,  worse  still,  to  the  repair  shop  in  town. 

Make  the  Work  Comfortahle. — In  this  matter  of  getting  ready 
for  the  work,  have  as  good  an  equipment  as  can  be  found  to 
make  the  work  comfortable  for  the  men  and  horses.  The  princi- 
pal thing  in  this  line  will  be  gloves  for  the  men  and  blankets  for 
the  horses.  A  pair  of  heavy  leather  gloves  well  oiled  is  perhaps 
as  good  as  anything.  Good  rubber  gloves  are  possibly  a  little 
more  effective,  but  they  cost  much  more,  and  a  good  rubber  glove 
is  a  difficult  thing  to  find.  Any  light  blanket  for  the  horses  will 
be  satisfactory.  It  protects  both  the  horses  and  the  harness,  and, 
while  not  indispensable,  is  worth  using,  at  least  in  lime-sulfur 
or  Bordeaux  spraying.  Some  men  wear  a  sort  of  hood  for  the 
winter  lime-sulfur  work,  which  will  frequently  be  found  an 
acceptable  thing,  particularly  if  one's  skin  is  tender. 

Fundamental  Principles. — In  the  actual  orchard  work  a  few 
cardinal  principles  ought  to  be  kept  in  mind. 


204  THE  SPRAYING  CAMPAIGN 

1.  Have  a  Definite  Object  in  View. — Know  what  you  are 
spraying  for.  Know  what  your  pests  look  like,  how  they  work 
and  what  will  kill  them.  Perhaps  it  may  seem  hardly  worth 
while  to  mention  this,  but  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  men 
who  spray  do  not  have  this  clear  notion  of  why  they  do  it.  How 
often  a  man  is  heard  to  say  that  the  aphis  is  less  abundant  than 
it  was  last  year  and  he  thinks  it  is  because  he  sprayed  so 
thoroughly  with  arsenate  of  lead.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  arsenate 
of  lead  does  not  have  the  slightest  effect  in  the  world  on  them. 
Or  he  may  say  that  he  must  do  something  this  year  for  the  big 
ants  which  attacked  his  apple  trees  the  year  previous  when  in 
reality  the  ants  were  not  hurting  his  trees  in  the  least,  but  were 
after  the  honej'dew  given  off  by  tlie  aphis.  Or  that  he  is  con- 
sidering the  use  of  Bordeaux  mixture  this  season  for  canker 
worms,  when  he  should  know  that  Bordeaux  is  regarded  merely 
as  a  tonic  by  any  canker  worm  in  good  health.  Examples  like 
these  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely  and  that,  too,  among  good, 
intelligent  orchard  men.  So  that  it  seems  quite  reasonable  to 
urge  the  importance  of  having  a  clear  idea  of  what  to  do. 

2.  Spray  in  Time. — ]\Iany  of  our  orchard  pests  are  not 
affected  in  the  least  by  any  spraying  which  is  not  done  promptly. 
The  codling  moth  and  the  bud  moth  are  good  examples  of  this 
class.  No  amount  of  spraying  after  they  once  gain  entrance  to 
the  apple  or  the  bud,  resjiectively,  will  have  any  effect  on  them. 
With  a  great  many  other  pests  spraying  is  of  relatively  little 
value  if  done  late,  and  with  only  a  few  is  there  any  objection  to 
doing  it  considerably  beforehand, 

3.  Spray  Thoroughly. — This  has  already  been  spoken  of  more 
than  once,  but  it  will  bear  repeating,  as  no  other  one  point  is  of 
more  importance.  A  common  way  of  regarding  spraying  is  to 
consider  that  it  is  like  a  medicine ;  if  the  tree  gets  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  it,  it  will  be  cured  of  its  diseases.  But  the  proper  way  to 
regard  it  is  to  think  of  it  as  we  would  of  painting  a  barn.  Paint- 
ing one  side  of  a  barn  has  no  effect  in  preserving  the  other  side. 
Neither  does  spraying  one  side  of  an  apple  affect  the  other  side. 
The  case  is  even  stronger  than  this,  because  such  pests  as  the 
San  Jose  scale  may  migrate  to  the  parts  that  were  sprayed  if 


EFFECTS  ARE  LASTING  205 

we  have  left  scales  undisturbed  in  some  places  by  our  poor 
spraying. 

4.  Let  the  Wind  Uelp.—ln  spraying  when  there  is  a  wind 
blowing  if  one  will  get  at  just  the  right  angle  with  his  tree  he 
can  spray  into  the  tree  and  wet  one  side  of  a  branch  and  then  the 
spray  will  be  blown  back  onto  the  other  side  and  so  the  whole 
tree  is  reached  quite  as  thoroughly  as  though  there  were  no  wind 
blowing  and  one  sprayed  from  each  side.  Some  men  make  a 
practice  of  spraying  one  side  of  their  trees  with  one  wind  and 
then  waiting  a  few  days  and  spraying  the  other  side  with  a  wind 


Fio.  88. — Proper  condition  of  apple  blossoms  for  spraying  before  they  open.     This  is  often 
a  very  important  spraying  when  scab  is  troublesome. 

from  the  opposite  direction.  This  is  all  right  if  the  winds  are 
accommodating  enough  to  come  that  way,  but  even  then  it  takes 
more  time  to  go  through  the  orchard  twice  than  if  it  can  be  done 
at  one  operation.  In  spraying  bearing  trees  of  good  size  some 
wind  is  even  desirable,  as  it  keeps  the  leaves  in  motion  and  the 
spray  is  apt  to  reach  both  sides  more  thoroughly. 

Effects  are  Lasting. — If  the  orchardist  sprays  year  after 
year  he  is  almost  certain  to  find  that  conditions  in  the  orchard 
improve  from  year  to  year.  In  other  words,  the  effect  of  spray- 
ing is  cumulative.    We  get  some  of  the  benefit  of  our  1913  spray- 


206  THE  SPRAYING  CAMPAIGN 

ing  in  1914.  This  is  a  comforting  thought  and  ought  to  stimulate 
the  owner  to  keep  up  the  practice  regularly.  It  is  still  more 
likely  to  be  true  if  a  whole  neighborhood  or  section  takes  up 
the  practice.  A  few  poor,  shiftless  non-sprayers  in  a  section 
can  do  a  lot  of  damage  to  the  whole  region  by  keeping  up  the 
supply  of  insects  and  fungous  spores. 

Spraying  is  Insurance. — In  this  connection  the  fruit  grower 
ought  to  keep  in  mind  a  fact,  which  is  often  urged  but  frequently 
forgotten,  that  spraying  is  really  an  insurance.  He  can  not 
always  tell  beforehand  exactly  what  pests  he  will  have,  but  he 
knows  somewhat  definitely.  He  must,  therefore,  map  out  his 
program  and  spray  accordingly,  knowing  that  one  year  with 
another  such  a  program  is  going  to  pay.  And  in  particular 
he  must  not  become  discouraged  and  give  up  spraying  because 
in  some  season  Jones,  who  didn't  spraj^,  gets  just  as  good 
results.  A  man  does  not  become  disheartened  and  condemn  fire 
insurance  because  his  house  does  not  burn  down  and  give  him  the 
benefit  of  the  insurance.  And  he  ought  to  regard  spraying  in 
the  same  light. 

The  Question  of  Danger  to  Animals. — Another  point  which 
is  often  asked  about  is  the  question  of  the  danger  to  animals 
which  eat  grass  that  grows  under  sprayed  trees.  And  less  fre- 
quently there  is  some  concern  as  to  the  danger  of  the  sprayed 
fruit  as  human  food.  On  the  first  point,  danger  to  stock,  the 
situation  may  be  thus  stated:  With  any  ordinary  fruit  tree 
sprayed  in  any  ordinary  way  with  poison  there  is  no  danger 
whatever  to  animals  which  eat  the  grass  growing  under  the 
tree,  either  in  a  fresh  state  or  as  hay.  The  Michigan  Experiment 
Station  investigated  this  matter  very  thoroughly  a  number  of 
years  ago,  pasturing  sheep  under  trees  which  had  been  heavily 
sprayed  and  in  other  cases  cutting  the  grass  and  feeding  it  to 
horses,  and  no  injury  resulted  in  either  case.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  have  been  cases  where  animals  have  fed  on  grass  growing 
beneath  street  trees  that  had  been  sprayed,  and  such  animals 
have  been  either  killed  outright  or  made  seriously  sick.  But 
the  case  here  is  very  different  from  any  ordinary  fruit  tree. 
With  these  street  trees  the  operator  stays  in  the  tree  for  a  long 


THE  QUESTION  OF  DANGER  TO  ANIMALS  207 


FiQ.  89. — Gravenstein  apples  sprayed  for  scab.     Compare  with  Figure  90. 
Fig.  90. — Gravenstein  apples  not  sprayed.    Compare  with  Figure  89.    The  matter  of 
spraying  was  the  only  difference  in  the  treatment  of  these  apples.    One  lot  is  almost  worthless 
and  the  other  nearly  all  No.  1  apples. 

time  and  iises  a  very  heavy  stream  so  that  there  is  a  tremendous 
drip  of  poison  onto  the  grass  beneath.  The  farmer  need  have  no 
hesitation  in  using  the  grass  in  any  orchard  which  has  been 


208  THE  SPRAYING  CAMPAIGN 

sprayed  in  the  ordinary  way.  In  this  connection  it  ought  to  be 
said  that  too  great  care  can  not  be  exercised  to  prevent  animals 
from  getting  at  the  poison.  This  does  not  often  happen  and  yet 
it  occurs  often  enough  to  make  extreme  caution  desirable.  In 
particular,  the  empty  kegs  ought  to  be  destroyed  after  the 
poison  has  been  used.  Cases  are  known  where  such  kegs  have 
been  left  about  the  orchard  and  have  caught  rain  water  and 
animals  drinking  this  water  have  been  killed.  All  poisons  should 
be  kept  under  lock  and  key  and  should  be  taken  out  only  as  they 
are  wanted  for  use.  It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  become  careless 
about  this  where  men  are  using  such  materials  constantly. 

The  question  of  the  effect  of  sprayed  fruit  on  human  beings 
was  also  investigated  by  the  Michigan  Experiment  Station. 
Grapes  sprayed  with  Bordeaux  mixture  were  chosen  and  it  was 
found  that  even  though  all  the  spray  materials  used  were  to 
remain  on  the  fruit  a  person  might  eat  300  to  500  pounds  at 
one  meal  without  getting  enough  copper  sulfate  to  be  dangerous. 
In  testing  the  matter  of  arsenic,  apples  sprayed  with  Paris 
green  were  examined,  and  it  was  shown  that  a  person  might 
eat  eight  or  ten  barrels  at  one  time  without  being  in  danger  from 
the  arsenic.  These  figures  seem  fairly  reassuring,  even  for  a 
person  with  a  robust  appetite,  and  we  may  therefore  conclude 
that  it  is  safe  enough  to  eat  sprayed  fruits.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
poor  practice  to  have  anything  on  the  fruit  which,  can  be  seen  at 
the  time  it  is  marketed  as  it  injures  its  appearance  and  most 
people  do  not  care  to  experiment  on  the  effects  of  spray  materials 
on  the  human  system.  If  it  becomes  necessary,  therefore,  to 
spray  late  in  the  season  use  a  material  that  does  not  show. 

The  spraying  program  varies  somewhat  in  different  seasons 
and  in  different  localities;  yet  it  is  possible  to  map  out  a 
fairly  constant  program  for  each  of  the  different  fruits,  and 
it  may  be  of  interest  and  value  to  suggest  such  a  general  scheme 
here. 

For  apples  and  pears  the  usual  sprayings  would  be  as  follows : 

First  spraying  in  the  autumn  after  the  leaves  have  fallen, 
using  one  of  the  miscible  oils — about  1  gallon  of  oil  to  12  gallons 


THE  SPRAYING  PROGRAM  209 

of  water — or  using  lime-sulfur  at  the  winter  strength,  say  1  to 
9  or  10.  This  spraying  is  principally  for  the  San  Jose  scale  and 
may  be  omitted  altogether  where  the  owner  is  lucky  enough  not 
to  have  that  pest. 

Second  spraying  in  the  spring  just  as  the  buds  are  breaking, 
using  lime-sulfur  at  winter  strength  with  nicotine  sulfate  %-pint 
to  50  gallons  of  water.  This  is  for  the  scale,  principally,  but  it  also 
of  value  for  certain  fungous  troubles  and  for  aphis  which  is  just 
hatching.  It  is  generally  advisable  to  apply  this  spraying,  though 
there  may  be  exceptions.  At  this  time  the  buds  will  be  well  broken 
open  and  may  even  show  the  tips  of  the  individual  leaves,  but 
experience  has  shoAvn  that  no  damage  will  be  done. 

Third  spraying  just  before  the  blossoms  open  using  lime-sulfur 
1  gallon  nicotine  sulfate,  i/o-pint  arsenate  of  lead  paste,  3  pounds 
l)owder,  1^  ^  pounds  water,  50  gallons.  This  spraying  is  esiJccially 
important  for  scab,  but  also  helps  to  control  bud  moth,  tent  cater- 
])illar,  curculio,  aphis  and  red  bug. 

Fourth  spraying,  within  a  week  after  the  pedals  fall  from  the 
blossoms,  using  arsenate  of  lead  paste,  3  pounds  to  50  gallons  of 
water,  or  the  powdered  form,  one  and  one-half  pounds,  with  about 
a  gallon  of  commercial  lime-sulfur  added  for  fungous  diseases. 
This  is  primarily  for  the  codling  moth,  but  it  is  also  very  helpful 
with  the  curculio  and  is  the  most  important  single  spraying  in  the 
calendar.  It  ought  to  be  stated  here  that  some  people  have  had 
trouble  at  times  with  the  combination  suggested  above  and  some 
authorities  have  even  gone  so  far  as  to  recommend  not  using  the 
combination  but  applying  each  one  separately.  This,  however,  is 
too  much  trouble  and  if  this  combination  will  not  work  we  must 
get  one  that  will.  The  writer  has  never  had  any  trouble  with  the 
combination,  though  he  has  used  it  for  a  number  of  years. 

These  four  sprayings  will  usually  go  far  towards  protecting 
the  orchard  from  attacks,  and,  as  suggested,  the  first  may  some- 
times be  omitted,  though  if  the  orchardist  lives  in  a  San  Jose 
scale  district  he  should  always  do  more  or  less  autumn  spraying 
in  case  the  spring  work  rushes  more  than  anticipated.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  some  sections  it  frequently  becomes  necessary  to 
spray  several  times  in  addition  to  those  outlined.     Where  there 


210  THE  SPRAYING  CAMPAIGN 

are  several  broods  of  the  codling  moth  it  may  be  necessary  to 
spray  four  or  five  times  for  that  insect  alone.  Or  if  the  scab  is 
especially  troublesome  it  may  be  necessary  to  spray  twice  before 
the  blossoms  open ;  or  if  the  cnrculio  is  especially  bad  it  may  be 
necessary  to  make  a  special  application  for  that  pest  a  week  or 
ten  days  after  the  fourth  spraying  detailed  above.  For  these 
and  other  special  sprayings  the  orchardist  must  study  his  own 
special  conditions  and  consult  local  authorities. 

For  peaches  and  plums  it  is  not  usually  necessary  to  spray 
in  the  autumn,  but  the  program  would  be  as  follows : 

First  spraying,  lime-sulfur  of  winter  strength  before  the 
buds  swell,  for  San  Jose  scale,  leaf  curl  and  brown  rot.  Be  sure 
that  this  is  applied  before  the  buds  even  begin  to  swell  as  other- 
wise the  leaf  curl  will  not  be  conti'olled.  Some  experimenters 
have  even  applied  this  dormant  spraying  in  the  autumn  with 
good  results. 

Second  spraying,  with  self-boiled  lime-sulfur  when  the  fruit 
is  the  size  of  the  end  of  one's  thumb,  principally  for  the  brown 
rot.  In  sections  where  this  brown  rot  or  monilia  is  particularly 
bad  it  is  recommended  to  make  three  sprayings  for  it  with  the 
self-boiled  lime-sulfur,  the  first  about  a  month  after  the  petals 
have  fallen,  the  last  about  a  month  before  the  fruit  is  ripe,  and 
the  second  about  half  way  between  these  two. 

Cost  of  Spraying. — It  remains  to  say  a  w^ord  about  the  cost 
of  spraying.  This  is  an  item  which  varies  so  much  that  it  might 
show  better  judgment  to  omit  the  discussion  of  it  altogether. 
But  it  is  hoped  that  the  following  figures,  like  others  that  have 
been  given,  may  be  at  least  suggestive. 

A  block  of  53  bearing  Baldwin  trees,  probably  thirty  years 
old,  was  sprayed  for  San  Jose  scale,  using  an  outfit  consisting 
of  a  team  and  three  men  at  a  combined  cost  of  87%  cents  per 
hour. 

Time,  71/3  hrs.  @  871/2  cents   (cost  of  labor) %GM 

Materials  431  gal.  spray  (Oil  1  to  12  =  321/^  gal.,  @  3.5  cents)    11.38 

Total   cost    $17.94 

Labor  cost  per  tree   121/2  cents 

Material  cost  per  tree   211/2  cents 

Total  cost  per  tree   34       cents 


QUESTIONS  211 

It  should  be  said  in  explanation  of  these  fi^ires  that  the  work 
was  done  with  great  thorougluiess,  as  it  was  especially  desired 
not  to  let  any  of  the  scales  escape. 

The  same  block  of  fifty-three  trees  was  sprayed  for  codling 
moth  at  the  following  cost: 

Time,  Gy,  hours  (3  men  and  team)   @  871/2  cents  (cost  of  labor) $5.69 

Materials  250  gal.  spray  (3  lbs.  arsenate  of  lead  to  50  gal.)=  15  lbs. 

arsenate  of  lead,  @  8  cents   •  •  •     .1.20 


Total  cost    $6.89 

Labor  cost  per  tree    10%   cents 

Material  cost  per  tree 2%  cents 

Total  cost  per  tree 13       cents 

Total  cost  per  barrel  of  api)Ies,  about 4       cents 

A  block  of  1,487  four-year-old  apple  trees  was  sprayed  for 
San  Jose  scale  at  the  following  cost: 

Time,  41  hours   (3  men  and  team)    @  871/3  cents   (cost  of  labor)  ..   $35.88 
Materials  720  gal.  spray  (Oil  1  to  12  ==  551/3  gal.,  @  35  cents) 19.43 

Total   cost    $55.31 

Labor  cost  per  tree  2.41  cents 

Material  cost  per  tree    1.30  cents 

Total  cost  per  tree   3.71  cents 

QUESTIONS 

L  ^^^lat  can  be  done  to  make  spraying  convenient  and  comfortable? 

2.  Discuss  the  importance  of  knowing  why  we  spray. 

3.  \Miy  is  it  important  to  spray  in  time? 

4.  Why  is  thorougliness  especially  important  in  spraying? 

5.  In  what  sense  may  spraying  be  considered  as  an  insurance? 

G.  Under  what  circumstances  is  there  likely  to  be  danger  to  animals  fiom 
spraying? 

7.  Outline  the  seasons  spraying  for  apples  and  pears. 

8.  How  should  plums  and  peaclies  be  sprayed? 

9.  Discuss  the  cost  of  spraying. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 

In  all  the  older  orchard-growing  sections  of  the  country 
there  are  many  old  orchards  which  have  been  neglected  for 
years  and  are  practically  worthless  as  they  stand,  sometimes 
worse  than  useless,  since  they  harbor  every  imaginable  pest,  and 
yet  which  may  be  brought  back  into  vigor  and  made  to  grow 
fine  crops  of  fruit  if  rightly  handled.  Orchards  have  been 
changed  from  absolute  worthlessness  into  thrifty  growth  and 
remunerative  crops  in  from  two  to  thi-ee  years.  So  easily  and 
quickly  can  this  change  be  made  that  an  old  orchard,  which  is 
not  in  too  bad  condition,  offers  better  and  quicker  returns  than 
the  setting  of  a  new  orchard.  It  seems  worth  while,  therefore,  to 
devote  a  chapter  to  this  subject,  since  in  many  respects  it  is 
quite  different  from  ordinary  orcharding. 

Is  Cutting  Down  Better  than  Renovation? — There  are  cases 
so  bad  that  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  cut  down  the  trees  and  put 
them  on  the  wood-pile.  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  they 
make  fine  wood  for  an  open  fire-place.  Anyone  who  has  not 
used  well-seasoned  apple  wood  in  his  fire-place  has  something  to 
look  forward  to.  The  first  question  to  decide,  therefore,  is 
whether  the  orchard  is  sufficiently  promising  to  warrant  the 
necessary  outlay  to  bring  it  back  into  good  condition  again  or 
whether  it  should  be  used  for  fire-wood.  Of  course  it  is  im- 
possible to  make  rigid  generalizations  on  the  subject,  for  so  much 
depends  on  the  owner  and  the  farm. 

Age  and  Vigor. — There  are  three  or  four  considerations 
which  seem  to  be  of  special  importance  and  which  would  apply 
to  almost  any  case.  The  first  of  these  is  the  age  and  vigor  of  the 
trees  (Fig.  99).  The  younger  they  are  the  better,  because  the 
owner  has  just  so  many  more  crops  to  look  forward  to.  Trees 
up  to  fifty  years  are  certainly  w^orth  considering  if  they  are 
thrifty.  Trees  of  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  years  are  some- 
times seen,  that  should  be  considered  by  no  means  hopeless. 
212 


THE  STAND  OF  TREES 


213 


Vigor  is  far  more  important  than  age.  The  vigor  should  be  in 
the  roots  and  trunk.  Indeed,  if  the  roots  are  poor  the  outlook 
is  rather  hopeless.  But  with  a  good  root  system  and  with  a 
sound  trunk  and  main  branches  it  makes  little  difference  how 
much  dead  wood  there  may  be  among  the  smaller  branches.  We 
can  judge  of  the  root  system  by  the  amount  of  growth  being 
thrown  out  by  the  top.  If  the  original  branches  are  killed 
by  San  Jose  scale  but  the  roots  remain  sound,  the  tree  will  at 


m^m,i 


iiu.  ','1.— A   go,.<l   typ(!  of   irt-u  fur  leuu 
removed  from  about  the  trunk  it 


lie  dead  wo(^<l  is  cut  onl  uiid  ilie  bucket 
m  develop  into  an  excellent  tree. 


once  throw  out  a  large  number  of  water-sprouts  to  take  care 
of  the  food  being  sent  up  by  the  roots.  Water-sprouts  are,  there- 
fore, always  a  hopeful  sign  in  an  old,  neglected  tree.  They 
indicate  vigor  and  are  useful  in  forming  the  future  top,  as  will 
be  explained  later  (Figs.  91,  94,  100  and  102). 

The  Stand  of  Trees. — Having  decided  favorably  as  to  the 
age  and  vigor  of  the  trees,  the  next  question  of  importance  to 
the  owner  is  the  stand  of  trees  in  the  orchard.  Where  tbere  are 
many  gaps  in  the  orchard  its  value  is  very  much  reduced.      Of 


214 


RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 


course  it  is  possible  to  set  out  young  trees  where  the  old  ones 
have  died  out,  but  this  is  seldom,  entirely  satisfactory.  In  the 
first  place,  the  young  trees  so  set  are  not  apt  to  do  well  and 
often  refuse  to  grow  at  all.  In  the  second  place,  even  though 
they  do  grow,  it  is  a  long  time  before  they  come  into  bearing. 
With  a  poor  stand  of  trees  the  profits  are  bound  to  be  less,  the 
reduction    depending    on   how   poor   the    stand   is,    for   many 


Fia.  92. — Ratlier  a  difficult  tree  to  renovate  and  one  which  will  require  several  years 
to  work  over.  It  is  headed  so  high  and  there  are  so  few  small  branches  low  down  that  the 
operation  will  have  to  proceed  slowly. 

Fig.  93. — A  difficult  type  of  tree  to  renovate,  but  one  which  has  little  value  as  it  stands. 
It  is  so  high  that  it  cannot  be  sprayed  properly  and  all  other  operations  are  costly.  But  it 
can  be  renovated,  as  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  Figure  96,  which  shows  the  same  tree  three 
years  later. 

operations  in  the  orchard  cost  just  as  much  for  a  poor  stand  as 
for  a  good  one.  Plowing,  cultivating  and  cover  crops,  for  ex- 
ample, are  "per  acre"  items  and  not  "per  tree."  Even  such 
operations  as  spraying  cost  considerably  more  per  tree  if  the 
trees  are  scattered.  It  is,  therefore,  far  more  likely  to  be 
worth  while  to  undertake  renovation  with  a  good  stand  of  trees 
than  with  a  poor  one. 


PESTS  IN  THE  OLD  ORCHARD 


215 


The  Question  of  Varieties. — The  third  point  on  which  the 
fate  of  the  orchard  hinges  is  the  question  of  what  varieties  it 
contains.  Our  old  family  orchard  with  one  tree  each  of  forty 
different  varieties  is  far  less  likely  to  prove  profitable  than  a 
good  block  of  Baldwins,  And,  on  the  other  hand,  an  orchard 
of  Ben  Davis,  or  some  such  variety  where  the  consumer  will  need 
to  "take  a  glass  of  water"  with  his  apple  in  order  to  get  it 
down,  Avould  certainly  appeal  to  any  practical  orchardist  less, 
even  though  it  were  all  of  one  variety,  than  an  orchard  made  up 


FiQ.  91. — A  poor  type  of  orrhard  for  renovating.  The  trees  are  so  tall  and  there  are 
so  few  small  branches  low  down  that  it  will  take  several  years  before  it  can  be  brought 
into  anything  like  a  profitable  condition. 


of  several  varieties  but  all  of  them  good.  So  the  variety  ques- 
tion is  important.  Of  course,  even  large  trees  can  be  grafted 
over,  but  that  is  a  long  and  rather  expensive  operation,  for 
"grafting"  is  costh^  in  other  places  than  New  York  City. 

Pests  in  the  Old  Orchard. — A  last  question  which  is  worthy 
of  some  consideration,  though  it  is  not  nearly  so  important  as 
those  already  mentioned,  is  the  matter  of  what  pests  are  in  the 
orchard.  San  Jose  scale,  for  example,  complicates  the  situation 
and  adds  very  decidedly  to  the  cost  of  bringing  the  trees  back  to 
health.     So  do  cankers.     The  orchardist  would  seldom,  perhaps 


216  RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 

never,  turn  down  the  proposition  merely  on  account  of  the 
pests  in  the  orchard,  yet  coupled  with  other  difficulties  they 
may  turn  the  balance  against  the  orchard. 

KENOVATION  OPERATIONS 

Having  decided  that  the  orchard  is  worth  undertaking, 
the  renovating  will  usually  fall  under  the  following  six  heads : 

1.  Pruning. 

2.  Grafting. 

3.  Fertilizing. 

4.  Plowing  and  cultivating. 

5.  Cover  crops. 

6.  Spraying. 

Some  of  these  are  more  important  than  others  and  the  second 
item,  grafting,  can  usually  be  omitted  from  the  list  altogether 
and  yet  it  is  best  to  be  prepared  for  the  whole  six.  Let  us  con- 
sider each  one  as  briefly  as  we  may  and  still  get  a  clear  idea  of  it. 

I.  Pruning. — This  is  usually  the  first  thing  done  and  requires 
more  study  and  a  greater  variation  than  any  of  the  others. 
Each  tree  is  going  to  be  a  problem  by  itself.  Some  will  require 
severe  treatment  and  others  only  normal  pruning.  The  type  of 
treatment  depends  on  how  badly  the  top  has  been  killed,  on 
whether  the  tree  is  so  high  as  to  make  a  lowering  of  the  top  de- 
sirable, and  on  how  many  water-sprouts  there  are  in  it.  De- 
pending on  these  three  questions  a  tree  may  be  pruned  normally, 
or  it  may  be  pruned  severely,  or  it  may  be  ' '  de-homed ' ' ;  that  is, 
the  top  cut  back  very  severely.  Serious  mistakes  are  often  made 
in  choosing  the  type  of  treatment.  If  a  tree  needs  to  be  de- 
horned the  pruner  wastes  time  and  money  if  he  gives  it  merely 
a  light  pruning;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  trees  are  sometimes 
killed  outright  by  being  de-homed  when  they  should  have  been 
given  merely  a  severe  pruning. 

Suppose  that  the  type  of  top  is  satisfactory,  that  is  that  the 
tree  is  not  over-tall  and  there  is  not  much  dead  wood  in  it, 
then  it  may  want  only  a  normal  pruning. 

If  the  top  is  very  high  so  that  it  ought  to  be  lowered  and 
yet  there  are  very  few  water-sprouts  lower  down,  then  the  top 


PRUNING  217 

ought  to  receive  a  severe  pruning  to  start  more  water-sprouts 
in  order  that  it  may  be  de-horned  later.  It  would  be  a  mistake 
to  de-horn  at  once,  because  there  are  not  enough  water-sprouts 
to  take  care  of  the  food  sent  up  by  the  roots.  And  it  would  also 
be  a  mistake  to  give  it  only  a  light  pnming. 

If  the  top  is  poor  and  high  with  plenty  of  low-growing 
water-sprouts  then  the  thing  to  do  is  to  de-horn  at  once  and 
start  a  new  top. 

A  common  mistake  among  those  who  undertake  this  sort  of 
work  is  to  de-horn  trees  which  are  really  too  good  for  such 
drastic  treatment.  If  a  tree  has  a  reasonably  good  top  it  is 
much  better  to  do  the  w^ork  gradually,  taking  several  years, 
perhaps,  to  accomplish  the  desired  result.  The  owner  thus 
secures  some  returns  from  his  orchard  each  year,  and  still  the 
trees  are  improving  all  the  time. 

Having  decided  on  which  of  these  three  types  of  treatment 
is  to  be  meted  out  to  our  tree  w'e  begin  the  pruning.  A  safe 
rule  to  follow  is  to  go  over  the  entire  top  and  take  out  all  dead 
wood  (Fig.  99).  Frequently,  far  too  frequently,  this  is  all 
that  the  tree  Avill  stand,  and  in  any  case  one  can  judge  better 
what  more  ought  to  be  done  after  the  dead  wood  has  been  taken 
out.  Next  should  follow  diseased  branches.  Branches  affected 
with  blight  should  come  out  altogether.  Those  having  such 
diseases  as  European  canker  may  be  kept  for  a  few  years  if 
they  seem  to  be  needed  and  either  taken  out  altogether,  later 
on,  or  the  diseased  areas  treated,  if  the  branches  are  too  im- 
portant to  be  sacrificed. 

In  most  cases  Avhere  these  old  trees  are  not  de-homed  it  is 
very  important  to  lower  the  top  more  or  less.  This  can  be  done 
gradually,  year  by  year,  taking  out  relatively  small  branches 
from  the  top  of  the  tree,  and  in  a  surprisingly  short  time  the  tree 
will  be  down  where  it  can  be  sprayed  and  picked  w'ith  comfort 
and  dispatch  and  yet  there  will  have  been  little  loss  in  the  crop. 
The  King  tree  shown  in  Figure  93  is  a  good  example  of  this. 
Before  the  work  of  renovation  began  it  stood  forty  feet  high 
with  the  bearing  wood  at  the  ends  of  the  branches  and  most 
of  the  fruit  borne  so  high  that  the  cost  of  spraying  and  picking 


218 


RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 


the  fruit  was  simply  prohibitive.  Now  it  is  down,  as  shown  in 
Figure  96,  where  the  work  on  it  can  be  done  with  comfort. 
It  had  been  neglected  too  long  to  form  a  model  tree,  yet  no 


Fio.  95. — An  old  orchard  before  the  work  of  renovating  began;  full  of  dead  wood  and  the 
foliage  small  and  sickly. 

Fig.  96. — The  same  orchard  as  shown  in  Fig.  95  after  three  years'  treatment.     Many  of  the 
trees  are  almost  models  in  form  and  foliage,  and  all  are  greatly  improved. 

one  would  ever  recognize  it  as  the  same  tree  shown  in  Figure  93. 

In  this  renovation  work  the  operator  has  to  be  very  careful 

about  the  wounds  which  are  made  in  pruning.    Many  of  them  are 


PRUNING  219 

large  in  size  and  the  trees,  of  course,  are  less  vigorous  than 
younger  ones,  so  that  ever3i;hing  possible  has  to  be  done  to 
facilitate  the  healing  process.  In  particular,  no  stubs  should 
be  left  and  the  painting  or  tarring  of  the  wounds  should  be 
very  carefully  attended  to.  Even  with  the  best  of  care  these 
large  wounds  are  going  to  be  a  menace  to  the  tree.  The  pruner 
is  fortunate  also  if  he  does  not  find  a  lot  of  old  stubs  on  the 
trees,  left  by  former  pruners,  which  have  already  started  to 
decay  and  have  gone  too  far  ever  to  be  entirely  recovered.  It 
is  a  problem  to  know  just  what  to  do  with  them.  If  the  decay 
has  extended  into  the  main  branch  it  can  be  stopped  entirely 
only  by  chiselling  out  all  of  the  decayed  wood  and  filling  in 
the  hole,  but  this  is  usually  too  costly  a  process  to  be  under- 
taken on  a  commercial  scale  in  an  orchard.  About  all  that 
one  can  do  is  to  resaw  the  stub,  dig  out  as  much  of  the  decayed 
wood  as  can  be  done  conveniently  and  quickly  and  then  fill  in 
the  cavity  with  cement.  This  is  only  a  make-shift,  and  delays 
but  does  not  stop  the  decay.  It  merely  keeps  out  the  water  and 
air,  rendering  the  conditions  less  favorable  for  the  organisms 
causing  the  decay. 

In  most  cases  of  renovation  work  it  is  best,  at  the  start,  to 
save  all  the  water-sprouts  in  the  tree.  This  becomes  increasingly 
important  as  the  pruning  is  more  severe.  Where  trees  are  de- 
horned every  sprout  should  be  carefully  preserved,  and  unless 
the  pruning  is  relatively  light  (what  we  have  called  "normal 
pruning")  there  will  be  few  of  these  sprouts  that  can  be  spared 
to  advantage.  The  second  year  a  large  number  of  them  may  be 
removed,  but  not  in  the  beginning,  for  the  tree  will  need  all 
the  leaf-surface  possible  to  take  care  of  the  relatively  large 
amount  of  plant  food  that  will  be  sent  up  by  the  roots.  It 
will  be  a  revelation  to  those  who  have  never  had  experience  in 
this  work  to  see  the  luxuriant  growth  which  these  old  trees 
will  develop  even  during  this  first  season  (Figs.  96,  98  and  102). 

This  is  about  all  that  need  be  said  in  regard  to  the  pruning 
proper.  There  may  be  parts  of  the  remaining  top  that  will 
need  some  thinning,  but  frequently  not,  and  in  any  case  it  is 
a  relatively  unimportant  part  of  the  work. 


220 


RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 


Scraping. — Another  operation  which,  ought  usually  to  accom- 
pany the  pruning  is  scraping  off  the  rough  bark.  This  is  re- 
garded by  some  as  of  doubtful  utility,  but  it  is  usually  very 
desirable.  It  helps  to  get  rid  of  a  large  number  of  insects,  eggs 
and  fungous  spores.  There  can  be  no  question  about  that.  And 
where  the  orchard  is  affected  with  San  Jose  scale  this  scraping 
is  imperative,  since  live  scales  will  be  found  hidden  away  under 
the  old  scaly  bark  and  these  can  never  be  reached  by  the  spray 


Fig.  97. — Beginning  the  work  of  renovating  an  old  apple  tree;  a  high  top  full  of  dead  wood. 

Compare  with  Figure  98. 

Fia.  98. — The  same  tree  aa  shown  in  Figure  97  after  three  years'  treatment.    It  ia  now  an 

excellent  tree. 

mixtures  unless  the  old  bark  is  removed.  ]\Iore  than  this,  it  has 
always  seemed  from  pure  theory  that  the  bark  will  expand  better 
and  tlie  whole  tree  respond  better  to  the  efforts  in  its  behalf  if 
this  old,  mossy,  scaly  covering  that  it  has  carried  for  so  many 
years  is  removed. 

2.  Grafting. — If  the  trees  in  the  orchard  are  of  satisfactory 
varieties  the  owner  is  saved  this  expense,  but  it  usually  happens 
that  a  few  trees  are  of  poor  sorts,  and  sometimes  a  large  number 
have  to  be  worked  over.     This  matter  of  grafting  is  really  a 


GRAFTING 


221 


subject  in  itself  and  can  be  treated  only  very  briefly  here.  One 
of  the  chief  points  to  be  secured  in  the  remodelled  tree  is  a  low 
top,  and  it  is  also  one  of  the  most  difficult  points.  There  are 
two  ways  of  doing  it:  Either  the  new  grafts  or  buds  must  be 
put  on  water-sprouts  which  come  out  low  on  the  trunk  or  main 
branches,  or  else  we  must  use  what  is  known  as  the  crown  or 
bark  graft  or  the  Coburn.  The  former  method  is  much  to  be 
preferred,  and  where  water-sprouts  are  already  available  or  can 


Fig.  99. — An  old  apple  tree  before  beginning  renovation.     Two-thirds  of  the  top  la  dead 
and  the  rest  sickly. 

Fig.  100. — The  same  tree  as  Figure  99,  de-horned  after  one  year's  treatment. 

be  developed,  there  need  be  no  difficulty  in  changing  over  the 
top.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  budding,  if  sprouts  are  small, 
or  of  cleft  grafting,  if  the  sprouts  are  large.  For  budding  we 
should  have  a  branch  not  over  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  the 
ordinary  shield-bud  method  is  used. 

The  more  buds  we  put  in  the  more  quickly  the  new  top  cap 
be  grown,  and  it  is  such  a  simple  operation  that  the  extra  cost 
amounts  to  very  little.  In  such  a  tree  as  is  shown  in  Figure 
100,  fifty  buds  might  be  used  and  the  tree  changed  to  the  de- 


222 


RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 


sired  variety  with  very  little  loss  of  time.  If  the  same  tree  were 
to  be  worked  over  by  cleft  grafting  it  would  simply  be  necessary 
to  insert  cions  in  all  of  the  main  shoots  shown  on  this  tree,  per- 
haps ten  in  number. 

When  water-sprouts,  or  other  relatively  small  branches,  can 
not  be  had  then  we  may  resort  to  crown  or  bark  grafting  or  to 
Coburn  grafting  in  order  to  lower  the  top.  In  the  first  of  these 
methods  the  branch  to  be  grafted  is  sawed  off  at  the  desired 
height,  which  may  be  well  down  toward  the  trunk,  and  the  cions. 


Fig.  101. — The  same  tree  as  Fig.  100  after  on«  season's  growth.     Notice  foliage  vigor. 
Fig.  102. — The  same  tree  as  Fig.  99  after  three  years'  treatment. 

cut  to  a  thin  wedge,  are  pushed  down  between  the  bark  and  the 
wood.  There  is  no  splitting  of  the  branch,  as  in  cleft  grafting, 
and  consequently  very  much  larger  branches  may  be  worked  over. 
A  six-inch,  or  even  an  eight-inch  branch,  may  be  used.  And  the 
cions,  being  pushed  right  into  the  cambium  layer  of  the  stub,  are 
almost  sure  to  grow.  The  objection  to  the  method  is  that  it  takes 
several  years  for  the  cions  and  stock  to  unite  firmly,  considerably 
longer  than  with  cleft  grafting,  and  during  this  time  the  cions 
frequently  blow  out  if  the  orchard  is  in  a  windy  location.  In 
the  Coburn  method  the  incisions  are  made  with  a  sharp  saw 
instead  of  by  splitting  the  stub  as  in  cleft  grafting,  and  this 
lessens  very  greatly  the  danger  of  d«cay  starting  in  the  stub. 


FERTILIZERS 


223 


The  cions  are  cut  to  a  long  wedge  and  are  driven  down  into  the 
incision  made  by  the  saw,  being  careful,  as  in  cleft  grafting,  that 
the  cambium  layers  meet.  It  is  a  much  easier  method  for  the 
novice  than  the  other  method. 

3.  Fertilizers. — On  the  matter  of  fertilizers  for  the  renovated 
orchard  the  writer  has  rather  decided  opinions,  based  on  his 
work  in  several  orchards  and  on  observations  in  several  others. 

No  Nitrogen. — In  the  first  place,  there  ought  to  be  no 
nitrogen  of  any  kind  applied  the  first  year.  This  comes  as  near 
to  being  a  rule  without  exceptions  as  we  are  likely  to  run  across. 
Just  think  for  a  moment  of 
what  has  been  done  to  the 
orchard.  If  all  that  has 
been  outlined  (with  the  ad- 
dition of  cultivation  and 
spraying)  has  been  carried 
out  thoroughly  it  will  be  the 
most  surprised  lot  of  trees  in 
the  state,  without  the  addi- 
tion of  an  ounce  of  nitrogen. 
We  have  taken  away  from 
one-fourth  to  nine-tenths  of 
the  top,  which  alone  would 
induce  a  vigorous  growth ; 
it  has  been  freed  from  insect 
and  fungous  attacks  and  the 
soil  has  been  stirred  up  so 
as  to  supply  it  with  all  the 
water  it  can  use,  something 
it  probably  has  not  had  for 
years.  Incidentally  this  soil  treatment  seems  to  give  it  about  all 
the  plant  food  that  it  can  use  and  it  puts  forth  a  rank,  dark 
green  growth  that  would  do  credit  to  a  green  bay  instead  of  a 
green  apple  tree.  A  glance  at  Figure  102  will  show  the  type  of 
growth  to  be  expected. 

Now  suppose  that  more  nitrogen  has  been  added,  particularly 
slowly  available  nitrogen,  like  barn  manure  or  tankage.      The 


I'lu.  103. — Trunk  of  a  tree  damaged  by  too 
much  nitrogen.  The  cambium  layer  has  been 
killed  and  the  bark  is  separating  Irom  the  -wood. 


224  RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 

tree  is  bound  to  make  a  still  more  rank  growth  and  it  is  going 
to  be  practically  impossible  to  check  it  in  the  autumn  in  time 
for  it  to  ripen  its  wood  before  winter  comes  on.  The  result 
is  almost  certain  to  be  more  or  less  damage  to  the  cambium 
layer  and  consequently  killing  of  the  adjoining  bark.  If  the 
damage  is  "less"  we  are  likely  to  find  injury  around  the  trunk 
of  the  tree,  as  is  shown  in  Figure  103.  In  this  case  the  bark  was 
killed  only  part  way  around  and  the  tree  survived,  but  it  is  like  a 
man  with  one  lung  so  far  as  getting  down  to  work  is  concerned. 


Fig.  104. — An  orchard  damaged  by  too  much  nitrogen.    The  trees  have  gro^n  late  in  tht 
autumn  and  have  not  been  able  lo  withstand  the  cold. 

When  the  damage  is  more  severe  the  tree  may  be  killed  outright 
or  so  severely  damaged  that  is  it  practically  out  of  the  race. 

Figure  104  shows  a  case  of  this  kind.  It  was  in  an  orchard 
in  the  Annapolis  Valley,  Nova  Scotia.  The  trees  had  been  rather 
neglected  for  several  years,  being  kept  in  sod  and  no  fertilizer 
used.  Then  the  owner  had  a  "  change  of  heart  "  and  decided 
to  do  b?tter  by  his  trees,  so  he  plowed  the  orchard  and  applied 
a  heavy  dressing  of  barnyard  manure.  The  soil  was  not  very 
fertile,  and  the  past  neglect  had  made  it  less  so,  with  the  result 
that  the  trees  had  made  long,  straggling  roots  in  search  of  mois- 
ture and  plant  food,  as  it  is  well  known  that  trees  will  do  in  a 
poor  soil  like  this.  Then  comes  this  entire  change  of  conditions. 
The  soil  is  plowed  up  and  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  both 
moisture  and  food,  particularly  nitrogen.  The  large,  spreading 
root  system  at  once  develops  an  abundance  of  feeding  roots 


CULTIVATION  225 

throughout  its  entire  length,  as  it  is  also  well  known  that  trees 
will  do  wlien  conditions  are  favorable.  The  result  is  that  the 
trees  are  worse  off  than  trees  accustomed  to  good  care  from  the 
start.  They  ' '  over-eat, ' '  over-grow  and  are  not  able  to  withstand 
the  cold  of  winter.  Therefore,  if  you  are  tempted  to  use  nitrogen 
in  a  renovated  orchard  resist  the  temptation,  under  most  condi- 
tions. At  least  give  the  orcliard  one  season's  treatment  to  see 
how  the  trees  respond. 

Damage  from  this  source  is  usually  first  shown  by  the  trees 
having  a  sickly  appearance  as  they  leaf  out  in  the  spring.  An 
examination  of  the  bark  about  the  base  of  the  trunk  will  fre- 
quently show  that  it  is  loose  and  separates  readily  from  the  wood 
over  considerable  areas.  In  severe  cases  ijractically  the  entire 
cambium  layer  is  killed  and  the  bark  may  be  pulled  off  in  long 
strips.  When  the  cambium  laj-er  is  killed  all  around  the  trunk 
there  is  nothing  to  do  but  cut  the  tree  down.  But  Avhere  the 
damage  is  less  severe  we  may  cut  away  the  injured  bark  and 
paint  over  the  wound  and  the  tree  will  probably  recover. 

On  the  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  side,  the  case  is  quite  dif- 
ferent. There  is  certainly  no  danger  of  damaging  the  trees  and 
if  the  soil  is  poor  they  wall  probably  be  beneficial.  The  phosphoric 
acid  may  probably  best  be  applied  when  the  cover  crop  is  sown, 
since  its  greatest  value  is  likely  to  be  in  that  crop.  All  things 
considered,  acid  phosphate  is  probably  the  best  form  in  which 
to  apply  it,  and  from  200  to  300  pounds  per  acre  may  be  used. 
The  question  of  the  use  of  potasli  is  more  problematical  but  on 
sandy  soils  an  application  of  100  to  200  pounds  per  acre  may  Avell 
be  tried  out,  and  this  too  is  probably  best  applied  at  the  time 
the  cover  crop  is  sOAvn. 

4.  Cultivation. — It  is  assumed  tliat  the  orcliard  is  not  going 
to  be  kept  in  sod.  Most  of  these  old  orchards  of  the  type  under 
consideration  have  long  been  in  sod  and  occasionally  it  may  be 
possible  to  renovate  them  by  sod  culture,  but  usually  not.  If 
they  are  to  be  cultivated  the  first  problem  is  to  get  them  plowed, 
and  sometimes  it  is  a  very  difficult  problem.  A  steady  team  is 
needed,  a  very  strong  plow,  and  a  man  who  has  a  good  grip  on 
his  temper.  With  these  essentials  and  with  plenty  of  time  and 
15 


226 


RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 


perseverance  almost  aii}^  orchard  may  be  plowed.  It  is  sometimes 
recommended  to  use  a  disc  harrow  first  in  case  the  orchard  has 
long  been  in  sod  and  the  roots  are  close  to  the  surface,  but  this 
is  entirely  unnecessary.  Some  large  roots  will  have  to  be  cut, 
a  great  many  in  fact,  and  they  will  keep  working  out  of  the 
ground  all  through  the  first  season,  but  the  tops  have  also  been 
severely  pruned  and  some  loss  of  roots  will  do  no  harm.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  do  this  first  plowing  away  from  the  trees  to  facilitate 
getting  out  the  sod  from  about  their  trunks.     This  will  require 


Fig.  1(i5. — An   oi(i,    neglected   orchard   when   renovation  was  begun.     The   foliage  is  thin 
and  poor  and  the  trees  generally  unthrifty. 

some  work  with  the  mattock  or  grub-hoe  after  the  plowing  is 
done,  but  it  is  worth  while  in  order  to  make  a  thorough  job. 

After  the  plowing  is  done  the  land  should  be  put  in  the  best 
condition  possible.  Usually  a  disc  harrow  is  a  good  implement 
to  use  after  the  plow  and  it  ought  to  be  run  the  same  way  the 
land  was  plowed  to  avoid  turning  up  the  sod.  The  disc  harrow 
may  be  followed  by  anything  else  in  the  harrow  line  that  is 
available.  The  orchard  should  be  cultivated  up  to  about  July 
10  and  then  sown  to  some  cover  crop. 

5.  Cover  Crops. — There  are  no  important  special  directions 
for  cover  crops  in  a  renovated  orchard  unless  it  be  to  use  buck- 


SPRAYING 


227 


wheat  the  first  year  on  account  of  its  rotting  the  sod  and  leaving 
the  soil  in  such  good  physical  condition.  If  the  soil  is  reasonably 
good  to  start  with  there  is  usually  little  difficulty  in  getting  a 
good  growth  of  cover  crop  this  first  year,  because  the  sod 
furnishes  plenty  of  humus  and  the  fertilizers  applied,  with  the 
subsequent  cultivation,  leave  the  land  in  fine  condition. 

6.  Spraying, — Here  again  there  is  no  marked  difference  in 
the  program  for  a  renovated  orchard.  If  the  trees  are  affected 
with  San  Jose  scale,  which  is  one  of  the  most  common  causes  of 


Fia.  100. — The  same  orchard  as  shown  in  Figure  105,  after  five  years' treatment.  There 
were  fifty-three  trees  in  the  orchard  and  it  yielded  as  follows:  1908,  43  bbls.;  1909,  45  bbis.; 
1910,  205  bbls.;  1911,  50  bbls.;  1912,  175  bbls. 

the  decline  of  these  old  orchards,  two  very  thorough  sprayings 
will  be  necessary,  one  with  oil  in  the  autumn  just  after  the 
leaves  are  off;  and  the  other  in  the  spring,  with  lime-sulfur,  jusi 
before  the  buds  swell.  These  two  sprayings,  with  two  for 
codling  moth,  are  generally  all  that  are  necessary.  A  thing 
which  will  interest  and  please  the  man  who  does  the  spraying 
is  to  see  how  much  easier  the  spraying  becomes  year  by  year 
as  the  trees  are  gradually  reduced  in  height  by  the  successive 
prunings.  It  is  the  tops  of  these  tall  trees  that  take  the  time 
and  the  materials. 


228  RENOVATING  OLD  ORCHARDS 

Renovation  Practice. — As  already  suggested  these  theories 
of  renovation  have  been  tried  out  on  many  different  orchards. 
The  history  of  one  of  these  orchards  may  be  worth  stating  briefly 
to  show  what  can  be  accomplished  in  such  old,  worn-out  orchards 
as  we  are  considering. 

The  block  consisted  of  fifty-three  trees  on  about  an  acre  and  a 
quarter  of  land  (Fig.  105).  The  trees  were  in  such  bad  condi- 
tion that  the  advisability  of  cutting  them  down  and  planting 
a  "real"  orchard  was  considered  seriously,  but  it  was  finally 
decided  to  see  what  could  be  done  to  bring  them  back  into  useful- 
ness again.  The  methods  just  outlined  were  followed.  During 
the  first  summer  the  orchard  appeared  as  shown  in  Figure  105. 
This  first  year  was  the  bearing  year  and  the  block  produced 
forty-five  barrels  of  apples,  "the  first  really  good  crop  it  had 
ever  bomo,"  one  of  the  neighbors  said.  As  the  trees  were 
mostly  Baldwins  the  following  year  was  the  "off  year"  and  the 
orchard  produced  only  forty-three  barrels.  The  third  year  it 
bore  nearly  two  hundred  barrels,  the  fourth  year  about  fifty, 
and  the  fifth  year  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  barrels.  This 
last  year  the  apples  were  thinned,  which  reduced  somewhat  the 
total  crop  but  greatly  improved  the  general  quality.  In  fact, 
there  were  very  few  No.  2  apples  in  the  orchard.  The  trees  no^ 
look,  after  five  years'  treatment,  as  shown  in  Figure  106. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Are  renovated  orchards  likely  to  be  profitable? 

2.  What  points   should   one  consider  in  deciding  whether  to  renovate  an 

orchard  or  not? 

3.  Give  some  idea  of  the  importance  of  varieties  in  such  an  orchard. 

4.  How  would  you  prune  an  orchard  that  is  to  be  renovated? 

5.  Why  is  scraping  recommended? 

6.  Discuss  the  fertilizing  of  a  renovated  orchard. 

7.  What  tillage  should  be  practised  in  such  an  orchard? 

8.  Can  you  describe  any  methods  in  the  renovation  of  old  orchards  which 

you  have  seen? 


CHAPTER  XVII 
PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 

This  is  where  the  real  fun  of  fruit-growing  comes  in.  The 
other  work  is,  much  of  it,  pleasant  and  most  of  it  interesting, 
but  for  downright  pleasure  go  out  and  gather  a  basket  of 
Carman  peaches  or  pick  a  basket  of  Mcintosh  apples. 

Thinning  the  Fruit. — While  it  does  not  strictly  belong  here, 
being  half  way  between  pruning  and  harvesting,  this  is  perhaps 


Fia.  107. — A  pair  of  thinning  shears.     The  long  pointed  bladis  enable  one  to  get  at  the 
Btems  in  a  cluster  of  fruit. 

the  best  place  to  discuss  the  thinning  of  fruit.  It  is  another 
western  custom  that  is  bound  to  become  more  general.  The 
sooner  our  eastern  growers  can  be  brought  to  realize  its  im- 
portance the  sooner  they  will  see  a  marked  improvement  in 
the  grade  of  fruit  produced.  No  one  thing  will  so  change  the 
size  and  appearance  of  a  crop  of  apples  as  the  simple  operation 
of  removing  about  half  of  them  from  the  trees  (Fig.  109). 
Thinning  is  profitable  for  many  different  reasons,  but  the  fol- 
lowing are  some  of  the  most  important. 

1.  It  maintains  the  vigor  of  the  tree.     The  development  of 
the  fruit  is  the  most  serious  drain  that  the  tree  has  to  undergo 

229 


230 


PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 


and  the  production  of  the  seed  in  the  fruit  is  much  more  ex- 
hausting than  any  other  part  of  the  fruit.  So  that,  while  a 
thinned  tree  may  produce  nearly  as  many  bushels  of  fruit  as 
one  that  is  not  thinned,  the  number  of  fruits  is  so  much  less  on 
the  thinned  tree  that  it  is  left  in  far  better  condition. 

2.  It  prevents  the  breaking  of  branches  due  to  overloading 
(Fig.  110).  This  is  a  very  important  matter  on  trees  that  are 
bearing  a  full  crop.  It  is  not  advisable  to  thin  a  tree  so  much 
that  no  props  at  all  are  required  to  help  the  tree  to  carry  its 
load,  but  there  is  no  question  that  with  proper  thinning  the 


liinning  Japanese  pluuiti. 


number  of  props  may  be  greatly  reduced  and  still  leave  the  tree 
reasonably  free  from  danger  of  breaking. 

3.  It  enables  us  to  get  rid  of  fruit  infested  by  insects  and 
fungous  diseases.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  codling  moth 
and  the  railroad  worm,  but  applies  to  a  number  of  other  pests. 
This  not  only  relieves  the  tree  from  the  drain  of  maturing  these 
fruits,  but  it  helps  to  hold  the  pests  in  check  and,  perhaps  most 
important  of  all,  it  relieves  the  owner  of  the  moral  responsibility 
of  deciding  what  to  do  with  these  inferior  specimens  when  packing 
time  comes. 


THINNING  THE  FRUIT 


231 


4.  The  fruit  is  of  better  size  and  color.  The  improvement  in 
these  respects  will  be  a  revelation  to  the  man  who  has  never 
thinned.  The  fruit  seems  to  swell  right  out  after  the  tree  is 
thinned  and  runs  a  very  even  grade  at  picking  time  (Fig.  109). 

The  evidence  as  to  tlie  effect  of  thinning  on  regularity  of 
bearing  is  somewhat  conflicting.  Earlier  investigations  seemed 
to  indicate  that  it  did  make  trees  bear  more  regularly ;  later 


Fio.  109. — Branch  of  an  apple  tr°e  that  was  thinned  twice.  Even  now  mere  are  some 
apples  left  that  should  have  been  taken  off.  The  most  difficult  thing  in  thinning  is  to  get 
the  men  to  take  off  enough  fruit. 

experiments  do  not  indicate  this.  This  latter  is  not  surprising 
Avhen  we  remember  that  recent  investigations  indicate  that  the 
question  as  to  whether  a  particular  bud  in  a  certain  season  is 
to  be  a  fruit  bud  or  a  leaf  bud  is  probably  determined  on  most 
fruit  trees  the  previous  season,  at  about  the  time  the  trees  blossom. 
We  ought  not,  therefore,  to  expect  an  operation  performed  two 
months  later  to  have  any  particular  effect  on  this  point  but  even 
without  any  influence  on  regularity  of  bearing  we  have  a  goodly 
array  of  advantages  that  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  at  least  warrant 
a  fruit  grower  in  making  a  start.  Once  the  start  is  made  the 
practice  will  probably  be  kept  up. 


232 


PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 


The  actual  operation  varies  greatly  with  different  fruits, 
with  different  men  and  under  different  conditions.  Most  au- 
thorities seem  to  favor  the  use  of  a  pair  of  shears  for  taking  off* 
the  fruits,  though  others  are  rather  partial  to  a  good  pair  of 
hands.  A  point  that  is  very  important  is  to  go  systematically 
over  the  tree  in  thinning.  If  he  does  not  do  this  the  oper- 
ator never  knows  when  he  is  through.  Begin  by  removing 
all  defective  fruits,  such  as  wormy  or  diseased  ones,  those 
that    are    under-sized    and    those    that    show    limb-bruises    or 


Fia  110 — Boys  thinning  apples.  It  cost  40  cents  per  tree  to  thin  trees  of  this  size 
twice,  and  they  averaged  about  lour  barrels  of  apples  at  harvest  time.  That  is  ten  cents 
per  barrel  for  thinning  and  the  owner  was  offered  $1.00  per  barrel  more  than  his  neighbors. 


other  similar  defects.  Then  try  to  thin  down  to  a  reason- 
ably uniform  distance  apart,  for  uniform  distance  gives  uni- 
form fruit.  This  is  going  to  vary,  of  course,  but  the  usual 
error  is  not  to  take  oft'  enough.  When  a  man  gets  through 
with  the  thinning  and  looks  at  the  ground  he  is  sure  he  has 
taken  off  too  many.  When  it  comes  time  to  pick  he  almost  always 
wishes  he  had  taken  off  more.  Western  orchardists  are  by  far 
the  best  authorities  in  the  matter,  and  many  of  them  recom- 
mend thinning  apples  to  as  much  as  8  or  10  inches  apart.  If  this 
seems  like  too  much,  begin  by  taking  off  all  the  apples  but  one 


HARVESTING  THE  CROP  233 

from  each  spur.  Then  gradually  increase  the  distance  as  con- 
fidence and  courage  increase.  With  peaches  and  plums  a  good 
rule  to  begin  on  is  to  thin  until  no  two  fruits  touch  each  other. 
Of  course  this  really  means  that  the  fruit  will  average  a  fair  dis- 
tance apart  and  this  can  be  increased  as  suggested  for  apphjij 
The  main  thing  is  to  get  the  practice  introduced.  A  great  ad- 
vantage of  both  these  standards  of  thinning  (taking  off  all  but 
one  apple  per  spur,  and  thinning  plums  and  peaches  so  that  they 
do  not  touch),  is  that  they  are  simple  rules  which  anybody  can 
follow  without  any  particular  thought  or  slackening  of  speed. 
Tell  a  man  to  thin  to  eight  inches  apart  and  he  spends  too  much 
time  figuring  Avhether  two  particular  apples  are  seven  inches  or 
eight  inches  apart. 

The  Cost. — What  discourages  many  from  thinning  is  llie 
notion  that  it  is  an  endless  job  and  that  the  cost  is  very  high. 
Of  course  it  does  cost,  but  one  should  reflect  that  it  costs  little 
more  to  pick  an  apple  by  thinning  in  July,  than  it  does  to 
pick  it  by  harvesting  it  in  October.  The  writer  kept  care- 
ful account  of  the  cost  of  thinning  an  orchard  of  fifty-three 
bearing  Baldwin  trees  one  season.  They  were  gone  over  twice, 
once  the  fore  part  of  July  and  a  second  time  the  fore  part  of 
August,  and  the  total  cost  was  about  forty  cents  per  tree.  It 
was  the  orchard  shown  in  Figure  106,  and  the  trees  would 
average  about  four  barrels  per  tree,  which  made  the  cost  of 
thinning  about  ten  cents  per  barrel.  As  no  check  trees  were 
left  without  thinning,  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  the  fruit 
was  increased  in  value,  but  it  was  certainly  a  beautiful  crop 
and  an  apple  buyer  offered  for  it  what  he  claimed  was  a  dollar 
a  barrel  more  than  he  was  paying  for  most  fruit,  because  of  their 
uniformity  and  size.  This  would  make  the  profit  due  to  thinning 
one  thousand  per  cent. 

iiar\t:sting  the  crop 
Coming  now  to  real  picking,  several  questions  of  importance 
present  themselves:  First,  equipment  needed  for  picking;  second, 
when  fruit  should  be  picked ;  third,  how  it  should  be  picked. 


234 


PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 


Picking  equipment. — For  most  fruits  this  consists  of  some 
type  of  ladder  and  some  kind  of  receptacle,  usually  a  basket. 

There  are  all  kinds  of  ladders  on  the  market,  but  two  kinds 
especially  commend  themselves.  In  step-ladders  the  kind  sho\VTi 
in  Figure  111  is  preferable.  It  has  only  one  leg  in  front,  which 
enables  the  operator  to  establish  it  firmly  on  the  ground  much 
more  quickly  than  can  be  done  with  the  four-legged  kind,  and 

incidentally  it  is  much  more 
firmly  established.  The  spread 
of  the  ladder  proper  at  the 
bottom  also  helps  to  make  it 
a  very  stable  ladder. 

Then  for  old  apple  trees  or 
other  large-sized  trees  ths 
best  ladder  is  what  is  gener- 
ally known  as  the  orchard 
type  of  ladder,  where  the  two 
side-pieces  come  together  in  a 
point.  This  makes  it  much 
easier  to  establish  the  ladder 
firmly  against  the  tree  than 
is  the  case  with  the  other 
type  of  ladders  in  which  the 
two  side-pieces  run  parallel 
or  nearly  so.  Both  types  of 
these  ladders  are  shown  in 
Figure  115. 

A  very  mtisfactory  pick- 
ing receptacle  is  a  smooth  oak 
picking  basket  such  as  is  shown  in  Figure  112.  For  perishable 
fruits  it  ought  to  be  lined.  Another  good  picking  receptacle  which 
is  strongly  recommended  by  many  western  fruit  growers  is  the 
galvanized  iron  pail.  Besides  being  a  perfectly  rigid  affair 
with  no  tendency  to  allow  the  fruit  to  squeeze  do%vn  along  the 
edges  of  the  receptacle,  as  it  will  do  in  a  flexible  one,  the  pail 
possesses  the  additional  advantage  that  the  foreman  can  tell 
by  the  sound  when  a  picker  throws  an  apple  into  it.    This  last 


Fig.  111.  —  Pioking  cherries.  Notice  the 
type  of  step-ladder,  broad  at  the  bottom  and 
with  only  one  leg  in  front. 


PICKING  EQUIPMENT 


235 


point  appeals  to  any  man  who  employs  a  number  of  pickers. 
Never  buy  the  rough  type  of  picking  basket  shown  in  Figure  113. 
They  cost  just  as  much  and  bruise  the  fruit  far  more.  Another 
type  of  picking  receptacle  which  is  very  objectionable  is  the 
picking  bag  (Fig.  114).  There  are  various  types  of  these,  from 
a  home-made  contrivance  made  from  a  grain  sack  and  designed 
to  sling  over  the  shoulder,  to  the  cross  between  a  pail  and  a 
bag  with  iron  sides  and  a  cloth  bottom.     With  a  very  careful 


F.Q.  112. — A  good  picking  baakfit.      The  smooth  surface  does  not  bruise  the  fruit  and  the 
padding  helps  still  more  to  reduce  this  type  of  damage. 

Fia.  113. — A  poor  type  of  picking  basket  for  fruit,  yet  one  often  used.     The  rough  sides  are 
sure  to  bruise  the  fruit. 

picker  they  may  work  very  well,  though  even  then  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  fruit  can  escape  being  bruised  more  or  less  as  the 
operator  moves  about  in  picking.  With  the  usual  help  that 
must  be  employed  when  there  is  much  picking  to  do,  it  is  simply 
out  of  the  question  to  avoid  a  lot  of  serious  injur^^  It  probably 
will  not  show  itself  when  the  fruit  is  emptied  into  the  box  or 
barrel:  frequently  it  may  not  show  when  it  is  packed,  but  it 
certainly  will  in  the  long  run.  Such  fruit  cannot  keep  as  well 
as  that  which  has  not  been  subjected  to  this  treatment. 


236 


PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 


A  word  also  ought  to  be  said  in  regard  to  the  coDtainers 
which  are  used  to  carry  the  fruit  from  the  orchard  to  the  pack- 
ing house.  If  possible  these  should  not  be  the  packages  which 
are  to  be  sent  to  market.  Some  very  large  peach  growers  make 
a  practice  of  taking  the  regular  basket  in  which  the  fruit  is  to 
be  shipped  right  into  the  orchard,  but  in  most  cases  this  is  not 
done.  And  where  it  can  be  avoided  it  is  certainly  better  not  to 
use  them,  for  the  baskets  are  bound  to  get  soiled  and  broken 


Fig.  114.— Picking  apples 
and  have  the  advantage  ot  leav 
wiih  ihe  least  carelessness. 


with  very  careful  men 
almost  sure  to  be  bruised 


more  or  less  in  their  trip  from  the  storehouse  to  the  orchard  and 
back  again.  For  the  smaller  fruits,  like  plums  and  peaches,  the 
picking  basket  shown  in  Figure  116  is  excellent  for  transporting 
the  fruit  from  orchard  to  packing  house,  and  it  will  last  much 
longer  if  oiled.  For  apples  and  pears  either  a  heavy  orchard 
box  should  be  used  or  else  barrels.  In  either  case  it  is  much 
better  if  these  receptacles  are  kept  expressly  for  this  purpose. 
Second-hand   barrels   are   entirely   satisfactory   and   the   heavy 


WHEN  AND  HOW  TO  PICK  237 

orchard  box  makes  an  excellent  receptacle  to  store  apples  in  and 
will  last  a  lon^  time  if  handled  with  reasonable  care. 

When  and  How  to  Pick. — We  come  now  to  the  second  of 
our  picking  questions.  When  to  pick  the  fruit  varies,  of  course, 
with  circumstances  and  with  fruits.  It  varies  all  the  way  from 
peaches,  which  are  never  quite  so  good  as  when  allowed  to  get 
thoroughly  ripe  on  the  trees,  to  pears,  which  practically  ought 
never  to  be  allowed  to  ripen  on  the  tree.  The  distance  the 
fruit  has  to  be  shipped  is  an  important  factor  in  determining 
the  proper  degree  of  ripeness  for  most  friiits.  The  farther  one 
has  to  ship  the  "greener"  must  the  fruit  be  when  picked.  That 
is  one  of  the  advantages  which  the  local  grower  has  over  the 
man  who  has  to  ship  long  distances.  Watch  the  way  prices 
jump  up  when  the  first  "native"  or  local  peaches  or  strawberries 
come  on,  and  you  get  an  estimate  as  to  how  much  it  improves 
them  to  ripen  on  the  tree  or  vine. 

As  there  is  considerable  variation  in  handling  the  different 
fruits  at  picking  time  it  may  be  well  to  suggest  a  few  points 
as  to  picking  each  particular  fruit. 

Apples  when  grown  for  market  are  seldom  allowed  to  get 
fully  ripe  on  the  tree,  though  it  probably  does  not  reduce  their 
quality  any  to  do  so  if  they  mature  early  enough.  Grravensteins, 
for  example,  that  have  ripened  on  the  tree  are  certainly  fully 
as  good  as  if  they  had  been  picked  earlier  and  allowed  to  ripen 
in  storage.  Of  course  the  winter  varieties  are  not  really  ripe 
until  long  after  they  are  picked,  and  even  the  early  sorts,  though 
they  are  more  nearly  ripe,  are  usually  pretty  "green"  when 
picked. 

The  proper  degree  of  maturity  is  judged  in  various  ways. 
The  amount  of  red  color  is  frequently  a  fair  index.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  cheek,  whether  it  is  still  a  dead,  even,  hard  green  or 
whether  it  has  begun  to  ripen  up  and  look  edible,  is  very  im- 
portant. The  ease  with  which  the  stem  separates  from  the  tree 
is  also  an  excellent  index  of  maturity.  So  long  as  either  the 
stem  or  the  spur  is  likely  to  break  instead  of  the  joint  between 
the  two,  the  apple  may  safely  be  left  on  the  tree,  except  where 
one   is   shipping   very   long   distances.      But   when   this    joint 


238 


PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 


separates  easily,  when  some  of  the  apples  even  begin  to  fall, 
then  there  is  little  danger  of  their  being  too  green.  The  color 
of  the  seeds  is  another  point  usually  given,  but  it  is  really  seldom 
resorted  to.  If  the  seeds  are  examined  they  should  be  a  good 
brown  color,  as  a  rule,  before  the  apple  is  fit  to  pick.  There  are 
exceptions  to  this  rule,  for  some  varieties  are  still  immature 
when  the  seeds  are  brown  and  others  are  fairly  edible  while  the 
seeds  are  still  very  light  colored,  but  these  exceptions  are  rare. 


Fia.  115. — PickinK  api.li's  from  w.>ll-l 
be  thinned  euouga  to  carry  ihei 


■<'s.     Api>lr  trees  carrying  a  full  crop  cannot 
thout  danger  unless  they  are  propped. 


In  the  operation  of  picking  the  apple,  if  the  thumb  is  placed 
beside  the  joint  between  the  stem  and  the  spur,  and  then  the  fruit 
is  bent  towards  the  thumb  with  a  quick  motion,  the  joint  will 
usually  break  readily.  This  requires  a  little  practice,  but  once 
acquired  the  good  picker  will  harvest  very  few  spurs.  The 
apple  should  always  be  picked  with  the  stem  on,  as  where  the 
stem  is  pulled  out  it  breaks  the  flesh  and  allows  disease  germs  to 
enter.  This  is  a  point  frequently  overlooked  by  careless  pickers 
and  ought  to  be  insisted  on  by  the  foreman.  It  is  frequently 
a  good  plan  to  make  more  than  one  picking  of  a  variety.    With 


WHEN  AND  HOW  TO  PICK  239 

early  apples  this  is  especially  true,  but  it  will  hold  with  even  as 
late  varieties  as  the  Gravenstein  and  the  Mcintosh.  One  gets  much 
better  fruit  in  this  way,  and  it  is  surprising  how  the  smaller 
apples  which  are  left  on  the  tree  will  fill  out  in  size.  Of  course 
this  is  especially  important  with  such  varieties  as  Wealthy  and 
IMcIntosh,  which  tend  to  drop  before  they  are  fully  ripe,  yet  it  is 
often  worth  trying  even  with  varieties  which  hang  on  well. 

Pears,  as  already  suggested,  are  picked  decidedly  green,  in 
fact  greener  than  any  other  fruit.  If  allowed  to  become  too 
ripe  on  the  tree  all  sorts  of  difficulties  are  likely  to  develop. 
Some  varieties  rot  at  the  core,  many  develop  the  hard,  gritty 
granules,  so  disagreeable  to  the  consumer,  of  an  otherwise  fine 
pear,  while  still  others  become  mealy.  Most  of  the  indications 
discussed  under  the  apple,  except  red  color,  apply  to  the  pear, 
but  the  really  important  indication  is  the  appearance  of  the 
cheek  of  the  fruit.  When  this  changes  from  a  dull,  unattractive, 
green  to  a  more  yellow  and  inviting  appearance  the  fruit  should 
be  picked.  Of  course,  greenness  can  be  over-done,  even  in  the 
pear,  in  which  case  the  fruit  will  wilt  and  shrivel  instead  of 
mellowing,  but  there  is  relatively  little  danger  of  this.  Pears 
should  be  picked  very  carefully,  more  so  than  almost  any  other 
fruit.  Bruises  are  peculiarly  disastrous  with  a  fruit  which  must 
remain  in  storage  so  long  and  which  has  a  flesh  that  is  so  soft 
and  melting. 

Peaches  ought  to  remain  on  the  tree  just  as  long  as  possible 
and  still  get  to  market  in  good  condition.  This  accepted  rule 
practically  means  that  it  is  impossible  for  anyone  to  advise  the 
owner  as  to  when  to  pick.  It  all  depends  on  how  far  he  is  from 
his  market,  and  it  will  probably  require  some  experimenting  on 
the  part  of  the  man  who  is  not  familiar  with  the  business.  The 
all -important  indication  with  the  peach,  as  with  the  pear,  is  the 
appearance  of  the  cheek  of  the  fruit.  When  this  looks  mature 
and  is  attractive  in  color  the  peach  is  ready  to  pick.  Do  not 
pay  much  attention  to  the  question  of  red  color.  This  is  largely 
a  varietal  question  and  depends  also  on  how  dense  the  top  of  the 
tree  is.  IMoreover,  red  frequently  develops  on  a  peach  weeks 
before  it  is  ripe.     We  frequently  see  the  advice  given  to  judge 


240 


PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 


by  feeling  of  a  peach,  whether  it  is  ready  to  pick  or  not.  This 
is  absolutely  unnecessary  and  very  detrimental  to  the  fruit.  It 
may  be  necessary  at  the  start  to  test  a  few  specimens  in  this 
way  in  order  to  get  at  the  relation  between  appearance  and 
maturity,  but  that  is  all.  The  man  who  cannot  pick  peaches 
without  pinching  and  punching  them  in  this  way  had  better 
be  put  to  picking  potatoes,  which  will  stand  that  sort  of  treat- 
ment. Moreover,  it  is  an  unnecessary  waste  of  time.  The  picker 
who  stops  to  feel  of  every  peach  he  picks  will  not  pick  many. 
Another  point  worth  mentioning  is  the   fact  that  cling-stones 


Fio.  116. — Peaches  picked  into  oak  picking  baskets,  to  be  packed  out  into  other  baskets 
for  market. 


and  semi-cling-stone  varieties  may  be  allowed  to  stay  on  the  tree 
much  longer  than  those  which  are  perfectly  free.  The  real 
cling  is  not  much  in  evidence  these  days,  but  the  semi-cling  is 
fairly  common.  Peaches  are,  of  course,  always  separated  from 
the  very  short  stem,  and  this  ought  to  be  done  by  as  straight 
a  pull  as  possible,  as  this  bruises  the  edge  of  the  cavity  less 
than  if  they  are  pried  loose. 

Cherries. — There  is  no  great  art  about  picking  cherries  ex- 
cept to  be  sure  to  get  the  stems.  In  fact,  the  fruit  itself  should 
not  be  touched  any  more  than  can  be  helped.  Do  the  work  with 
the  stems  alone.    They  should  be  allowed  to  get  as  ripe  as  possi- 


WHEN  AND  HOW  TO  PICK 


241 


ble  before  being  gathered,  as  they  do  not  improve  much  after 
picking.  And  still  they  are  not  allowed  to  get  fully  ripe  except 
for  very  nearby  markets.     Taste  is  the  standard  by  -which  to 


■Attacking  an  old-timer.    The  coat  of  picking  such  1 
froni  low  trees. 


rge  trees  is  much  preiter  than 


judge  ripeness  that  is  usually  suggested  by  those  who  write  on 
this  subject,  and  it  is  probably  as  good  as  any,  though  if  it  is 
adopted  there  is  danger  that  some  pickers  will  require  to  have 
16 


242 


PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 


their  judgment  refreshed  rather  often.  Cherries  ought  always 
to  be  picked  into  baskets  or  some  other  rigid  receptacle  and  this 
should  be  rather  small,  as  too  large  a  body  of  fruit  is  likely  to 
lead  to  injury. 

Plums  are  generally  picked  before  they  are  ripe ;  for  distant 
markets,  long  before.  Yet  like  all  stone  fruits,  they  will  respond 
in  improved  quality  if  they  can  be  allowed  to  stay  on  the  trees 
till  fully  ripe.  The  writer  has  had  some  experience  with  Bur- 
bank  and  Red  June  plums  which  was  interesting  to  him  and  may 
be  helpful  to  others.     Both  of  these  are  Japanese  varieties,  a 


Fio,  118. — A  load  of  apples  on  the  way  to  market.    Thia  is  a  good  tjrpe  of  wagon  for  hauling 
barrels.    It  is  low,  making  it  easy  to  load,  and  it  will  carry  twenty-five  barrels  easily. 


class  usually  singled  out  by  authorities  to  recommend  picking 
green.  The  trees  under  discussion  were  thinned  carefully  and 
the  fruit  was  then  allowed  to  hang  until  it  was  fully  ripe.  We 
started  picking  once  or  twice  and  quit  because  there  was  not 
enough  fruit  that  was  sufficiently  ripe.  We  made  repeated 
pickings,  taking  only  the  really  ripe  plums,  and,  though  these 
two  varieties  are  not  usually  rated  as  of  high  quality,  these 
particular  specimens  were  certainly  delicious.  They  were  put 
up  in  strawberry  quart  baskets  and  sold  at  9  to  10  cents  whole- 
pale.  But  it  was  the  quality  that  accomplished  the  results,  and 
it  was  the  ripeness  that  gave  the  quality.    Plums  ought  always 


MANAGEMENT  OF  PICKERS 


243 


to  be  picked  with  the  stems  on  if  possible.  "With  some  of  the 
American  varieties  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  do  this,  as  they 
separate  from  the  stem  very  readily. 

Management  of  Pickers. —  [t  remains  to  say  just  a  few- 
words  in  r(',<i-ard  to  orchard  methods  which  apply  pretty  gener- 
ally to  all  the  diff'erent  fruits.  The  first  of  these,  and  by  all 
means  the  most  important,  is  the  question  of  managing  the 
pickers.  Various  methods  are  in  vogue,  but,  with  few  excep- 
tions, the  only  proper  way  is  to  pay  by  the  day  and  not  by  the 
piece.  "With  small  fruits  this  may  not  be  so  generally  true,  but 
with  the  orchard  fruits,  which  we  are  considering,  where  the 
orchardist  wants  good  work  he  can  get  it  only  by  absolutely 
owning  the  men's  time.  It 
is  desirable  to  get  as  good 
help  as  possible.  And  if  the 
owner  can  have  enough 
regular  men,  or  men  who 
have  worked  on  the  place 
enough  to  have  an  interest 
in  things,  so  that  he  can  put 
one  or  two  of  them  with  the 
raw  recruits,  it  is  a  great 
advantage.  It  is  also  well  not 
to  have  too  many  men  in  any 
one  gang. 

Some  method  must  also  be  adopted  to  relieve  the  picker  of  the 
necessity  of  holding  his  basket,  so  that  he  may  have  both  hands 
free.  A  very  common  and  handy  device  is  an  iron  hook  fastened 
to  the  handle  of  the  basket  which  may  be  hooked  over  a  limb 
of  the  tree  or  a  rung  of  the  ladder.  Sometimes  the  basket  is  hung 
to  the  belt  or  over  the  shoulder. 

The  sooner  the  fruit  can  be  gotten  under  cover  after  being 
picked  the  better.  Do  not  allow  it  to  stand  in  the  hot  sun.  Of 
course  this  is  more  important  with  the  perishable  classes,  like 
cherries,  but  it  holds  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  with  fruit  of 
any  kind. 

For  hauling  the  fruit  from  the  orchard  some  type  of  low 


-Distributing  barrels  in  the  apple 
orchard. 


244  PICKING  AND  HANDLING  FRUIT 

wagou  will  be  found  very  useful.  If  it  can  be  such  as  will 
turn  in  a  very  short  space  so  much  the  better.  A  low  wagon 
becomes  almost  imperative  where  apples  are  brought  from  the 
orchard  in  barrels  (Fig.  118).  The  amount  of  energy  that  is 
wasted  in  lifting  barrels  of  apples  into  high  wagons  or  carts 
and  then  lifting  them  down  again  would  have  built  the  Panama 
Canal.  Good  equipment  for  all  the  different  operations  is  half 
the  battle  in  handling  the  fruit  economically  and  well  (Fig.  119). 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Give  the  principal  benefits  from  thinning  fruit. 

2.  Describe  how  it  is  done. 

3.  Give  some  idea  of  the  expense. 

4.  What  should  be  the  equipment  for  picking  tlie  different  fruits? 

5.  Discuss  the  stage  of  maturity  for  the  picking  of  apples. 

6.  Same  for  peaches  and  plums. 

7.  Same  for  pears.     For  cherries. 

8.  Give  special  points  and  cautions  to  be  observed  in  the  picking  of  each 

of  these  fruits. 

9.  Discuss  the  management  of  picking  crews. 

10.  Describe   the   picking   of   fruits   as   you  have    seen   it   and   discuss   the 
good  or  bad  features. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
STORING  FRUIT 

It  is  rare  that  a  iruit  grower  is  supplied  with  abundant  and 
efficient  storage  room.  Frequently  the  only  storage  available 
on  tlie  farm  is  the  cellar  of  the  dwelling  house  or,  worse  yet,  of 
the  barn.  While  the  late  varieties  of  apples  may  keep  sur- 
prisingl}'  well  in  these  old  cellars,  there  is  no  hope  of  holding 
the  earliei'  and  more  perishable  fruits. 

Advantages  of  Good  Storage. — The  principal  advantages 
which  the  orchard  man  secures  by  having  adequate  and  efficient 
storage  are  the  following: 

1.  Prevents  Forced  Sales. — It  puts  him  on  an  equality,  or 
nearly  so,  with  the  buyer.  Frequently  the  great  advantage  which 
the  buyer  has  over  the  fruit  grower  is  that  the  latter  has  no 
place  to  store  his  fruit  and  the  buyer  knows  this.  He  therefore 
offers  as  little  as  his  conscience  will  let  him,  Icnowing  that  the 
orchard  man,  realizing  his  precarious  position,  will  accept  the 
offer  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  failing  to  find  another  buyer. 
Now  suppose  that  the  grower  has  plenty  of  room  in  which  to 
store  liis  fruit  and  that  this  storage  is  etfieient  so  that  his  frun, 
will  keep  in  good  condition  for  a  long  time.  He  is  in  a  very 
different  situation  from  the  former  case.  He  knows  that  his 
fruit  will  be  perfectly  safe  for  a  number  of  weeks  or  montlis  and 
he  therefore  feels  quite  independent  about  selling.  If  the  price 
offered  is  satisfactory  he  will  take  it,  and  if  not  he  will  wait. 
Good  storage  facilities,  therefore,  put  the  transaction  just  where 
it  belongs.  Neither  buyer  nor  seller  has  any  advantage  over  the 
other.  If  they  can  agree  on  a  price  the  fruit  changes  hands,  and 
if  they  can  not  it  does  not. 

2.  Good  storage  prevents  gluts  of  the  market  by  allowing  the 
producer  to  hold  back  a  part  of  his  crop.  This  is  especially  true 
of  the  more  perishable  fruits.  For  example,  in  New  England 
there  is  what  is  known  as  "Elberta  week,"  when  this  variety 

245 


246  STORING  FRUIT 

comes  on  with  a  rush.  It  so  happens  that  it  usually  comes  the 
week  of  Labor  Day,  when  most  people  do  not  want  to  labor. 
The  result  is  that  prices  usually  collapse.  But  if  even  the  large 
growers  were  so  situated  that  they  could  put  some  of  their 
peaches  in  storage  for  this  week  they  would  not  only  be  saved 
the  necessity  of  selling  this  part  of  the  crop  at  a  sacrifice,  but 
the  mere  fact  that  they  took  some  of  the  fruit  off  the  market 
would  help  to  keep  the  price  up. 

3.  Good  storage  increases  consumption  by  keeping  the  fruit 
in  better  condition.  This  is  a  self-evident  fact  but  one  frequently 
overlooked.  If  a  consumer  gets  a  barrel  of  apples  in  poor  condi- 
tion, one  barrel  will  perhaps  be  all  that  he  will  buy ;  whereas  if 
his  first  barrel  comes  to  him  in  fine  shape  he  may  be  induced  to 
use  two  or  even  three  barrels.  Few  people  realize  how  much 
difference  there  is  in  selling  capacity  between  a  fruit  which  is 
merely  not  decayed  and  one  which  has  been  kept  in  prime 
condition. 

4.  Good  storage  improves  the  price  by  allowing  the  grower 
to  delay  his  marketing.  It  almost  always  happens  that  the  price 
of  any  fruit  is  higher  at  either  end  of  the  season  than  it  is  in 
the  middle  of  the  season.  Therefore  if  a  grower  can  keep  the 
fruit  which  he  would  ordinarily  market  in  the  middle  of  the 
season  until  this  rise  in  price  occurs  he  is  going  to  realize  con- 
siderably more  for  his  crop. 

5.  Good  Storage  Avoids  Mental  Strain. — It  seems  worth 
while  to  add  another  advantage  of  good  storage,  and  that  is  the 
influence  it  exerts  on  the  grower  himself.  Few  people  who  have 
not  had  the  experience  realize  what  a  mental  strain  it  is  upon 
a  man  to  market  a  large  crop  of  fruit.  A  good  share  of  this 
strain  comes  from  his  anxiety  lest  the  fruit  shall  deteriorate 
before  he  can  sell  it.  The  reassui-ance  which  a  good  storage  would 
bring  to  such  a  man  would  increase  his  comfort  and  prolong 
his  life. 

The  Ideal  Storage  Plant.— With  all  these  benefits  to  be 
secured  from  storage  it  is  worth  while  next  to  consider  what 
constitutes  an  ideal  fruit  storage  plant.  It  ought  to  have  the 
following  characteristics : 


THE  IDEAL  STORAGE  PLANT  247 

1.  Low  Temperature. — A  satisfactory  storage  must  be  able 
to  give  relatively  low  temperatures.  Just  what  these  shall  be 
depends  on  the  kind  and  condition  of  fruit,  but  they  must  be 
low.  Usually  fruit  keeps  best,  or  at  least  longest,  when  the 
temperature  approaches  the  freezing  point.  With  apples  it  is 
generally  considered  that  the  best  temperature  is  from  30°  to 
32°  F.,  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  this  idea  may  be  modified 
with  further  experimentation,  but  in  any  case  it  is  going  to  be  a 
low  temperature  that  is  desired.  The  low  temperature  prolongs 
the  keeping  of  the  fruit  for  two  reasons,  first  because  it  prevents 
or  retards  the  work  of  the  organisms  of  decay  and  second  because 
it  slows  down  the  life  processes  of  the  fruit  so  that  it  lives  a 
slower  life  and  therefore  lasts  longer. 

2.  Little  Variation. — The  storage  room  should  have  as  con- 
stant a  temperature  as  possible.  Variations  are  always  objection- 
able and  become  more  so  as  they  are  rapid  and  extreme.  The 
writer  once  had  experience  with  a  small  storage  room  where  the 
insulation  was  very  poor.  The  first  winter  he  managed  it 
he  attempted  to  get  around  the  difficulty  by  putting  a  small 
oil  stove  in  the  room.  As  this  could  not  be  left  burning  all  night, 
the  temperature  was  run  up  to  perhaps  60°  during  the  day  and 
then  fell  to  nearly  freezing  during  the  night.  This  was  repeated 
each  day  of  the  very  cold  weather.  It  is  needless  to  saj^  that  the 
fruit  kept  very  poorly  that  winter,  so  much  so  that  it  was  de- 
cided that  something  would  have  to  be  done  to  improve  matters. 
The  following  year  furring  strips  an  inch  thick  were  nailed 
against  the  walls  and  then  the  room  was  lined  with  building 
paper,  thus  giving  an  inch  air  space  and  the  additional  layer  of 
paper  over  the  entire  wall  surface.  The  result  was  that  the 
following  winter  the  temperature  was  very  constant  and  the 
fruit  kept  surprisingly  well. 

3.  Getting  Fruit  In  and  Out. — The  storage  should  be 
arranged  so  that  it  is  convenient  to  get  fruit  into  it  and  out 
again.  Just  what  this  arrangement  will  be  will  vary  with 
circumstances,  but  if  it  is  at  all  possible  to  get  a  wagon  into 
the  storage  it  will  save  tremendously  in  the  cost  of  getting  the 
fruit  in  and  out.  An  elevator  and  an  outside  bulk-head  are  two 
common  methods,  but  neither  is  as  expeditious  as  the  wagon 


248  STORING  FRUIT 

method,  and  the  bulk-head  method  is  not  much  more  efficient  in 
conserving  the  cold  temperature  of  the  storage  house. 

4.  Not  too  Expensive. — The  storage  must  be  reasonable  in 
cost.  Just  what  may  be  considered  a.s  a  reasonable  cost  varies. 
The  cost  of  the  same  house  in  different  localities  will  vary  and 
the  price  which  a  grower  can  afford  to  pay  and  still  make  a 
profit  on  his  investment  will  vary.  If  an  orchard  man  is  selling 
his  apples  to  a  fancy  trade  at  $5  to  $10  a  barrel  he  can  afford 
to  put  more  money  into  a  storage  house  than  the  man  who  is 
selling  on  the  general  market  for  $1.50  to  $2.00  a  barrel.  In 
estimating  the  capacity  of  a  room  or  building  it  is  customary  to 
allow  ten  cubic  feet  per  barrel,  and  two  and  a  half  cubic  feet 
per  bushel  box.  These  amounts  allow  for  alley  ways  for  getting 
at  the  different  lots  in  the  storage.  It  is  generally  considered 
that  a  refrigerated  storage  house  can  be  put  up  for  from 
$2.50  to  $3.50  per  barrel  of  capacity.  If  an  orchard  man  is 
expecting  to  put  his  fruit  in  cold  storage  he  can  probably 
put  up  his  own  building,  provided  he  is  a  reasonably  large 
grower,  cheaper  than  he  can  hire  his  fruit  stored  in  a  com- 
mercial storage  plant. 

The  usual  price  charged  for  storing  apples  is  40  to  50  cents 
per  barrel  for  the  season.  Now  if  a  grower  is  producing  say 
one  thousand  barrels  of  apples,  and  putting  them  in  refrigerated 
storage,  he  pays  $500  for  the  season.  This  is  the  interest  at 
five  per  cent  on  $10,000,  which  at  the  estimates  given  above 
would  put  up  a  building  with  a  capacity  of  from  2,900  to  4,000 
barrels.  Of  course  it  is  going  to  cost  the  owner  something  to 
run  it,  but  even  so  he  is  going  to  save  money  and  he  is  going  to 
have  the  advantage  of  a  satisfactory  storage  right  on  the  place 
(Fig.  120). 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  some  advantage  in  having  the 
fruit  stored  near  the  point  where  it  is  to  be  consumed  or  at 
least  distributed,  and  as  the  commercial  plants  are  usually 
located  in  the  larger  centres  this  advantage  should  be  kept  in 
mind.  In  particular  the  danger  from  freezing  in  transit  during 
the  winter  months  is  greatly  reduced  by  having  the  fruit  shed 
near  the  point  of  consumption. 

5.  Proper  Moisture. — A  storage  room  should  carry  a  rela- 


THE  IDEAL  STORAGE  TLANT 


249 


lively  high  percentage  of  moisture.  Just  what  the  best  moisture 
content  is  has  not  yet  been  accurately  determined.  ]\Ir.  ]\Iadison 
Cooper,  a  recognized  expert  in  such  matters,  suggests  for  apples 
80  per  cent  of  a  saturated  atmosphere.  One  thing  is  certain, 
it  is  very  easy  to  get  the  storage  room  too  dry.  While  it  is 
undoubtedly  possible  to  also  get  it  too  moist,  this  is  a  far  less 
common  difficulty.  The  writer  recalls  the  methods  used  by 
two  growers  in  the  Annapolis  Valley,  Nova  Scotia,  who  were 
noted  for  their  success  in  keeping  apples.  One  of  them  had 
a  stream  of  water  running  through  his  storage  cellar  and  the 
other  made  a  practice  of  wetting  down  his  cellar  with  a  hose. 
It  is  apparently  particularly  objectionable,  from  the  moisture 
standpoint,  to  have  a  cement  floor  in  the  building  unless  some 
provision  is  made  to  svpply  the  needed  amounts  of  moisture. 


Fig.  120. — A  good  type  of  farm  storage  house.     This  building  will  hold  about  two  thousand 
barrels  of  apples  and  has  ample  room  for  empty  barrels  in  the  loft. 


In  one  house  the  requisite  moisture  supply  lia.s  been  kept  up  in 
a  room  which  has  a  cement  floor,  by  having  a  small  channel 
cut  in  the  cement  along  two  sides  of  the  room  and  keeping  a 
small  stream  of  water  in  this  from  a  faucet  which  is  allowed 
to  drip  slightly. 

6.  Good  Size. — The  storage  ought  to  be  ample.  The  cost 
per  barrel  is  less  on  a  large  plant  than  on  a  small  one  and  it 
therefore  adds  relativelj^  little  cost  to  increase  the  capacity 
of  the  house  considerably.  And  where  new  orchards  are  coming 
along,  more  and  more  room  is  going  to  be  needed.    It  is  there- 


250  STORING  FRUIT 

fore  much  better  to  build  a  good-sized  plant  to  begin  with. 
It  can  never  be  done  as  cheaply  afterwards, 

7.  Operation  Inexpensive. — The  building  must  be  operated 
cheaply.  This  is  imperative.  The  more  simple  the  method  of 
operating  the  better.  A  method  requiring  expensive  machinery 
that  is  likely  to  get  out  of  repair  and  which  needs  the  attention 
of  expert  and  high-priced  men,  while  it  may  be  all  right  for 
the  large  city  plant,  is  certainly  not  usually  the  best  for  the 
farmer  unless  he  is  a  large  grower. 

The  various  types  of  fruit  storage  may  be  classified  as 
follows : 

1.  Refrigerated  storage,  in  which  ammonia,  carbon  dioxide 
or  some  other  gas  is  used  for  cooling  the  room.  This  is  the  most 
common  type  with  large  establislnnents  and  has  the  advantage 
that  it  is  usually  very  accurate  in  operation.  It  is  possible  to 
regulate  the  temperature  to  a  degree,  which  is  often  very  im- 
portant. The  objections  to  it  are  that  it  is  expensive  and  that 
the  machinery  required  to  operate  it  is  rather  complicated  and 
when  it  gets  out  of  order  requires  an  expert  to  fix  it  up  again. 
There  are  three  different  methods  of  cooling  storage  rooms  by 
this  gas  system:  (a)  The  gas,  after  being  liquefied  under 
pressure,  is  conducted  in  pipes  to  the  storage  room  which  is 
to  be  cooled,  and  there  allowed  to  expand  and  take  up  the  heat 
of  the  room;  (&)  the  gas  is  allowed  to  expand  in  pipes  which 
are  immersed  in  brine  and  this  cooled  brine  is  then  conducted  to 
the  room  to  be  cooled;  (c)  the  air  of  a  certain  room  (or  rooms) 
is  cooled  down  and  then  is  put  in  circulation  by  fans  and  carried 
thus  to  the  storage  rooms. 

2.  "We  have  refrigerated  storage  where  ice  is  used  for  cool- 
ing. This  is  the  type  of  storage  which  is  often  used  for  fruit, 
and  it  has  proved  an  exceptionally  satisfactory  method  for  this 
purpose.  The  method  is  briefly  as  follows:  At  the  top  of  the 
building  are  vats  in  which  are  located  coils  of  pipes  filled  with 
chloride  of  calcium  brine.  This  brine  is  25°  Beaume  density 
and  will  not  freeze  at  3°  F.  These  coils,  known  technically  as 
the  primary  coils,  are  connected  by  pipes  with  other  coils  in  the 
rooms  to  be  refrigerated,  known  technically  as  the  secondary 


THE  VARIOUS  TYPES  OF  FRUIT  STORAGE  251 

coils.  To  cool  the  rooms,  broken  ice  and  coarse  salt  are  put 
into  the  vats  and  the  ice  in  melting  takes  up  the  heat  from  the 
primary  coils,  thus  cooling  the  brine  in  them.  This  makes  the 
chloride  brine  heavier  and  it  flows,  by  gravity,  down  through 
the  connecting  pipe  into  the  secondary  coils.  Here  it  takes  up 
the  heat  of  the  room  and  thereby  becomes  lighter  again,  and  so 
the  flow  is  kept  up.  The  temperature  of  the  refrigerated  rooms 
is  controlled  principally  by  varying  the  amount  of  salt  used 
with  the  ice,  but  there  are  valves  on  the  pipes  by  which  the 
flow  may  be  stopped  altogether  when  desired  or  shut  down  as 
much  as  may  be  wished.  The  great  advantages  of  the  system 
are:  The  cheapness  with  which  it  can  be  run,  requiring  no 
high-priced  labor  whatever;  the  fact  that  one  or  more  of  the 
rooms  may  be  run  without  the  others,  thus  reducing  the  cost 
proportionately;  the  fact  that  there  is  no  intricate  machinery 
to  get  out  of  order,  and  repairs  at  their  worst  are  made  by  a 
plain  plumber,  and,  most  important  of  all,  the  fact  that  it  works 
well  in  practice. 

3.  There  is  the  frost-proof  type  of  fruit  storage.  This  de- 
pends on  the  temperature  of  the  outside  air  for  cooling  the 
rooms.  It  is  not  as  efficient  as  either  of  the  others,  but  neither 
does  it  cost  as  much,  either  to  build  or  to  operate.  The  old- 
fashioned  bam  or  house  cellar  is  the  crudest  form  of  frost- 
proof storage.  The  building  shown  in  Figure  121  represents  the 
highest  type.  "Where  storage  is  required  principally  for  winter 
varieties  of  apples  and  where  the  autumn  temperatures  are 
relatively  low,  the  frost-proof  house  is  likely  to  prove  very 
satisfactory^  Where  the  more  perishable  fruits  are  growTi  it  is 
by  no  means  so  useful.  Such  a  building  or  room  is  operated 
by  opening  it  up  when  the  outside  air  is  cooler  than  that  of  the 
room  and  closing  it  again  when  the  outside  temperature  rises. 
With  a  little  attention,  and  leaving  it  open  during  the  cold 
nights  of  early  autumn,  the  temperature  may  be  forced  down 
fairly  low  quite  early  in  the  season. 

Construction. — It  may  be  worth  while  to  give  next  the  type 
of  construction  used  in    the  two  buildings  here  described. 


252 


STORING  FRUIT 


7   \M£^ 


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CONSTRUCTION 


253 


In  the  refrigerated  building,  shown  in  Figure  121,  the  walls 
are  relatively  very  complicated  and  are  correspondingly  efficient. 
Particularly  on  the  outside  walls  of  the  refrigerated  rooms  the 
insulation  is  very  perfect.  These  walls  consist  of  the  following 
materials,  beginning  on  the  outside:  (1)  Brick  veneer,  (2)  air 
space,  (3)  water-proof  building  paper,  (4)  inch  boards,  (5) 
2  by  10  inch  studs,  the  space  filled  wdth  shavings,  (6)  inch 
boards,  (7)  water-proof  paper,  (8)  inch  hair  felt,  (9)  water- 
proof paper,  (10)  inch  hair  felt,  (11)  water-proof  paper,  (12) 
inch  boards. 


Fia.  122. — Type  of  apple  storage  house  found  in  tho  Annapolis  Valley,  Nova  Scotia. 

An  excellent  feature  of  this  building,  which  every  storage 
building  should  possess,  is  an  ample  storage  room  in  the  third 
story  for  empty  packages. 

The  frost-proof  storage  house  has  been  brought  to  great 
perfection  in  the  famous  Annapolis  Valley,  Nova  Scotia,  where 
this  type  is  used  exclusively.  Some  of  these  houses  are  located 
on  the  farms,  but  most  of  them  are  located  along  the  railway, 
and  are  either  cooperative  or  are  built  by  large  commission 
houses  or  by  large  buyers  who  operate  in  the  section.  One  of 
the  farm  type  is  shown  in  Figure  120  and  one  of  the  other  type 
in  Figure  122.     The  walls  of  these  storage  houses  vary  con- 


254 


STORING  FRUIT 


siderably,  but  the  following  is  a  common  construction.  Be- 
ginning on  the  outside  we  have:  (1)  Shingles,  (2)  water-proof 
paper,  (3)  inch  boards,  (4)  water-proof  paper,  (5)  inch  boards, 
(6)  2  by  4  inch  studs,  (7)  lath  and  plaster,  (8)  inch  furring 
strips,  (9)  inch  tongue-and-groove  sheathing. 

A  diagram  of  this  wall  is  shown  in  Figure  123.  Considering 
that  it  is  not  a  very  complicated  wall,  it  is  certainly  a  very 
efficient  one. 

Keeping  Qualities  of  Fruits. — It  remains  to  say  a  word  about 
the  factors  which  influence  the  keeping  quality  of  fruits.  Like 
most  of  the  work  in  fruit  growing,  we  need  more  light  on  many 
points  connected  with  the  storage  of  fruits,  yet  the  following 
seem  reasonably  well  established: 


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Fia.  123. — Diagram  of  a  cross-section  of  the  walls  of  the  storage  house  in  Figure  122. 

T^e  handling  of  fruit  from  the  time  it  is  on  the  tree  until  it 
lands  in  the  storage  house  has  a  very  important  influence  on 
the  length  of  time  it  will  keep.  Fruit  which  is  picked  roughly, 
so  as  to  bruise  it  in  separating  it  from  the  twig;  fruit  which  is 
thrown  into  the  picking'  basket  or  poured  from  that  into  the 
receptacle  in  which  it  is  to  be  stored;  or  fruit  which  is  roughly 
handled  while  loading  or  unloading  in  hauling  the  packages 
from  the  orchard  to  the  storage  house,  will  not  keep  as  well  as 
that  which  is  carefully  handled.  The  importance  of  this  cannot 
be  over-emphasized,  and  every  detail  in  the  work  should  be  care- 
fully scrutinized  to  see  if  there  is  any  possible  chance  for 
improvement. 

The  degree  of  maturity  of  the  fruit  at  the  time  it  is  picked 
and  stored  has  a  very  decided  influence  on  the  length  of  time 


KEEPING  QUALITIES  OF  FRUITS  255 

it  will  keep.  It  is  a  common  impression  that  the  greener  the 
fruit  is  when  picked,  the  longer  it  will  keep,  but  this  is  by  no 
means  true.  A  certain  degree  of  immaturity  is  desirable,  but  it 
is  quite  possible  to  overdo  it.  There  is  some  difference  in  this 
respect  with  the  various  fruits,  but  in  general  it  may  be  said  that 
fruits  will  keep  longest  if  picked  when  they  are  fully  matured 
and  well  colored,  but  before  the  tissues  have  begun  to  break 
down,  while  the  flesh  is  still  firm. 

Delay  in  getting  the  fruit  into  storage  after  it  is  picked  is 
a  third  very  important  factor.  It  ought  to  be  understood  that 
there  are  certain  life  processes  which  are  constantly  going  on 
in  the  fruit,  as  in  any  other  part  of  the. plant.  These  processes 
have  to  do  with  the  growth,  maturing,  and  finally  with  the  break- 
ing down  and  decay  of  the  fruit.  They  go  forward  more  rapidly 
under  some  conditions  than  under  others.  Among  other  things 
which  hasten  this  ripening  process  is  the  removal  of  the  fruit 
from  the  tree.  It  ripens  faster  after  it  is  picked  than  while  it  is 
on  the  tree.  Therefore  it  should  be  hustled  into  storage  as  fast 
as  possible  when  once  it  has  been  picked. 

]\Ir.  G.  Harold  Powell  has  shown  that  Kings,  Suttons  and 
Rhode  Island  Greenings  picked  September  15  and  stored  within 
three  days,  kept  in  good  condition  until  March,  while  the  same 
varieties  picked  at  the  same  time  and  handled  in  tlie  same  way, 
except  that  they  were  not  stored  for  two  weeks,  were  badly  de- 
cayed by  Januarj^  1.  Their  commercial  value  had  been  injured 
from  40  to  70  per  cent  by  delay  in  getting  them  into  the  storage 
house. 

High  Temperature  Before  Storage. — One  of  the  chief  factors 
in  making  delay  dangerous  is  the  higher  temperature  to  which 
the  fruit  is  subjected  in  the  orchard  or  the  open  shed.  A  high 
temperature  shortens  the  life  of  the  fruit  by  hastening  the 
life  processes  in  it.  There  is  no  question  about  that.  Just  what 
is  the  best  temperature  and  just  how  it  ought  to  be  varied  in 
ripening  up  the  fruit,  are  matters  still  to  be  determined,  but 
there  is  no  question  that  they  ought  to  be  low.  The  more 
carefully  fruit  has  been  handled  the  higher  temperature  it 
will  stand  and  still  come  out  in  good  condition.    And  conversely 


256  STORING  FRUIT 

the  rougher  the  fruit  has  been  handled  the  lower  the  temperature 
should  be.  We  ought  not,  however,  to  expect  that  fruit  is 
going  to  be  any  better  when  taken  from  cold  storage  than  when 
put  in.  Many  people  have  apparently  overlooked  this  and  ex- 
pect the  storage  man  to  make  a  number  one  apple  out  of  a 
number  two  while  it  is  in  his  charge. 

Fungous  and  physiological  diseases  exercise  a  very  im- 
portant influence  on  the  keeping  of  fruit.  Among  the  former 
the  scab  or  black  spot  of  apples  and  peare,  and  the  monilia,  or 
brown  rot,  of  the  stone  fruits,  deserve  particular  mention.  When 
fruit  has  the  skin  broken  in  any  way,  as  by  pulling  an  apple 
from  the  tree  without  the  stem,  or  by  having  the  stem  of  another 
apple  puncture  it  while  in  the  basket,  several  of  the  common 
molds  are  likely  to  gain  entrance  and  cause  the  fruit  to  decay 
rapidly.  Frequently  they  cause  almost  the  total  loss  of  fruit 
that  is  stored.  Spraying,  careful  handling,  and  low  temperature 
are  the  methods  of  reducing  the  loss,  but  even  these  cannot  reduce 
it  to  zero.  Among  physiological  diseases  the  scald,  and  the 
dry  rot  or  Baldwin  spot  of  apples,  are  especially  important. 
Neither  one  is  entirely  understood,  but  either  one  will  cause  a 
tremendous  amount  of  loss  under  certain  conditions. 

The  conditions  under  ivhich  the  fruit  was  grown  also  exert 
a  very  important  influence  on  the  length  of  time  that  it  will 
keep.  Large,  overgrown  specimens  will  not  keep  as  well  as 
smaller  specimens  with  firmer  flesh.  This  is  why  apples  grown 
in  sod  orchards  usually  keep  better  than  those  grown  in  culti- 
vated orchards.  Fruit  grown  on  a  light  sandy  soil  generally 
does  not  keep  so  well  as  that  grown  on  a  heavier  soil,  though  this 
is  probably  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  fruit  on  the  sandy  soil 
is  allowed  to  get  too  ripe  before  picking.  Fertilizers  certainly 
exert  an  influence  on  keeping.  Where  too  much  nitrogen  is 
used  and  the  fruit  is  large  and  soft  it  will  not  keep  so  long 
after  it  has  reached  maturity.  On  the  other  hand,  the  maturing 
of  such  fruit  is  delayed.  Good  color  is  desirable  because  it 
means  a  fully  developed  fruit,  but  overcolor  is  not  desirable 
because  it  indicates  that  the  fruit  may  be  past  the  best  stage 
of  maturity. 


QUESTIONS  257 

The  type  of  package  used  in  storage  certainly  influences  the 
keeping  quality.  A  tight  package  seems  generally  to  give 
better  results  than  an  open  one,  and  a  relatively  small  package 
is  better  than  a  large  one,  probably  because  the  smaller  body  of 
fruit  does  not  generate  so  much  heat.  The  weight  of  the  fruit 
in  the  larger  package  may  also  have  an  influence.  A  bushel 
box  of  apples  is  often  found  to  keep  better  than  a  barrel  of 
the  same  apples. 

Wrapping  the  fruit  will  usually  cause  it  to  keep  better.  It 
seems  to  prolong  its  life  and  of  course  prevents  bruising  and 
the  transfer  of  disease  from  one  specimen  to  another.  Any 
type  of  ' '  wrapping, ' '  from  storing  the  fruit  in  sand  or  sawdust 
to  the  use  of  an  oiled  wrapper,  will  assist  its  keeping. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Discuss  the  influence  of  storage  in  preventing  forced  sales  of  fruit. 

2.  How  does  good  storage  prevent  gluts  in  the  market? 

3.  How  does  it  increase  consumption? 

4.  In  what  way  does  storage  affect  the  price  of  fruit? 

5.  Give  several  characteristics  of  an  ideal  storage  plant. 

6.  Describe  an  ammonia  cooling  system. 

7.  Describe  the  system  of  cooling  with  chloride  of  calcium  brine  and  ice. 

8.  Describe  the  frost-proof  storage  house. 

9.  Give  the  wall  construction  of  a  well-insulated  storage  house. 

10.  How  does  the  method  of  handling  fruit  affect  its  keeping  qualities? 

11.  What    influence   on    keeping   quality   has    the   degree   of    maturity    at 

picking  time? 

12.  How  is  the  keeping  of  fruit  affected  by  delay  in  storage? 

13.  Give  other  influences  affecting  keeping  quality. 


17 


CHAPTER  XIX 
GRADING  AND  PACKING 

These  two  operations  are  very  intimately  associated  and  are 
frequently  performed  by  one  operator  at  the  same  time.  But 
as  methods  improve  there  is  more  and  more  tendency  to  separate 
the  two  and  make  the  grading  an  operation  by  itself.  While 
we  hear  much  less  about  this  grading  of  fruit  than  we  do  about 
packing  it,  and  while  fruit  is  frequently  put  upon  the  market 
without  any  grading  whatever,  yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  where 
anything  like  careful  grading  is  done  it  requires  more  judgment 
and  closer  attention  to  the  business  in  hand  than  packing  does. 
Once  a  man  learns  the  art,  he  can  pack  apples,  for  example, 
into  a  box  without  much  thought,  provided  they  have  been 
graded  and  sized.  It  is  largely  a  mechanical  operation.  But 
when  he  is  grading  apples  into  from  four  to  six  grades,  varying 
in  size  and  color,  he  must  look  critically  at  every  fruit  he  handles. 

Reason  for  Grading. — Another  point  emphasizing  the  im- 
portance of  grading  which  is  frequently  overlooked  is  the  poor 
impression  which  a  mixed  lot  of  fruit  always  gives.  It  is  worth 
while  to  take  out  the  large  apples,  and  sell  them  separately, 
merely  for  the  improvement  it  makes  in  the  appearance  and  price 
of  the  medium-sized  apples  that  remain.  A  customer  will  be 
perfectly  satisfied  with  an  apple  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
diameter,  provided  all  the  rest  of  the  apples  in  the  package  are 
of  about  the  same  size.  But  put  this  size  in  with  some  of  three- 
inch  and  larger  specimens  and  he  objects  strenuously  and  thinks 
he  is  being  cheated.  By  all  means  grade  carefully  for  any  sort 
of  good  fruit. 

Grades  for  Apples. — Just  what  the  standard  for  the  different 
grades  shall  be,  and  just  what  names  shall  be  used,  is  a  some- 
what mixed  question  at  present.  The  grades  for  apples  in 
barrels  recognized  by  the  United  States  and  the  Canadian 
federal  laws  are  discussed  in  Chapter  XXII.  For  boxed  apples 
the  usual  designations  recognized  by  our  western  growers  are 
258 


WESTERN  GRADES  FOR  APPLES  259 

Extra  Fancy,  Fancy,  and  Choice  (grade  C),  which  are  defined  as 
follows : 

Extra  Fancy. — In  this  grade  all  apples  shall  be  sound,  smooth, 
free  from  worms,  woi-m  stings,  scale,  water  core,  sun  damages 
or  diseases  of  any  kind,  and  of  proper  shape,  according  to  the 
variety.  No  apples  smaller  than  165s  shall  be  allowed  in  this 
grade  (this  is  the  number  of  apples  required  to  fill  a  bushel  box). 
No  apples  that  are  of  a  red  variety  that  are  not  at  least 
three-fourths  red,  except  Rome  Beauties  one-half  red,  will  be 
taken  in  this  grade.  Yellow  Newtowns,  White  Winter  Pear- 
mains,  Grimes  Golden,  Bellflowers,  Winter  Bananas  and  Red 
Cheek  Pippins  will  be  allowed  in  this  grade,  but  no  other  variety 
of  yellow  apples.  Winter  Bananas  and  Red  Cheek  Pippin 
must  show  a  red  cheek. 

Fancy. — In  this  grade  also  all  apples  must  be  smooth,  sound, 
free  from  bruises,  blemishes,  worms,  worm  stings,  water  core, 
sun  damages  or  diseases  of  any  kind,  and  of  proper  shape,  accord- 
ing to  the  variety.  No  apples  smaller  than  165s  shall  be  allowed 
in  this  grade,  excepting  apples  of  the  following  varieties,  which 
will  be  accepted  when  packed  as  small  as  200  apples  to  the 
box:  Winesaps,  Jonathans  and  Missouri  Pippins  when  red  all 
over.  All  apples  of  red  varieties  ranging  in  color  from  three- 
fourths  red  down  to  one-third  red  will  be  included  in  this  grade. 
All  varieties  of  yellow  apples  will  be  allowed  in  this  grade. 

Grade  C. — This  grade  shall  be  made  up  of  all  merchantable 
apples  not  included  in  the  Extra  Fancy  and  Fancy  grades. 
These  apples  must  be  sound  and  free  from  bruises,  worm  stings 
and  other  diseases.  Skin  to  be  unbroken,  but  will  include  mis- 
shapen apples  or  apples  having  a  limb  mark  or  other  similar 
defect.  This  grade  will  include  apples  of  all  colors  and  as  small 
as  200s,  but  no  smaller.  It  is  optional  with  the  buyer  whether 
this  grade  be  wrapped  or  not. 

Western  Grades  for  Apples. — It  will  be  seen,  therefore, 
that  as  yet  our  grade  names  and  definitions  are  in  process 
of  evolution  and  are  still  somewhat  variable.  Doubtless  we 
shall  see  more  and  more  uniformity  in  both  of  these  matters. 
But  the  grade  name  and  the  grade  definition  are  of  minor  im- 


260  GRADING  AND  PACKING 

portance  compared  to  the  grading,  and  if  growers  will  grade 
carefully  and  uniformly,  and  will  pack  honestly  and  skilfully, 
there  is  likely  to  be  little  difficulty  about  names. 

FRUIT    PACKING 

Now  as  to  the  question  of  packing,  we  need,  first  of  all,  a  satis- 
factory equipment.  This  means  suitable  packages,  a  packing 
table  of  some  kind,  usually  a  press,  besides  such  accessories  as 
wraps,  stencils,  stemmers  for  apples,  and  various  other  things 
varying  with  different  fruits  and  different  types  of  packing. 

Packages  for  Apples. — Since  the  package  will,  to  a  consider- 
able extent,  determine  the  kind  of  equipment  needed,  we  may 
begin  with  a  discussion  of  packages  in  general.  For  apples  we 
have  principally  the  barrel  and  the  bushel  box.]  Both  of  these 
packages  have  their  advocates  and  both  have'^  their  place  in 
marketing  apples.  The  barrel  is  the  typical  eastern  package, 
while  the  box  is  used  in  the  West  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other 
packages.  The  box,  however,  is  gaining  ground,  though  slowly, 
among  the  eastern  growers.  The  claims  for  the  box,  which  seem 
to  be  fairly  well  founded,  are  that  it  carries  the  fruit  in  better 
condition,  that  it  is  a  more  attractive  package,  and  that  its 
smaller  size  makes  it  more  convenient  for  many  consumers.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  barrel  is  an  old  and  well  recognized  package 
(Fig.  124).  Fruit  can  be  handled  in  it  at  less  cost  than  in 
boxes  and  it  will  stand  rough  usage  in  transit  much  better  than 
the  box.  We  ought  not  to  have  rough  usage,  but  neither  ought 
we  to  have  a  great  many  other  things  that  we  do  have.  Nothing 
but  apples  of  the  very  highest  grade  ought  to  go  into  boxes.  It 
is  essentially  a  high-grade  package,  and  if  a  customer  finds  poor 
fruit  in  it  he  feels  defrauded  and  rightly  so.  The  writer  would 
meet  the  argument  that  there  is  a  demand  for  small  quantities  of 
the  poorer  grades  by  suggesting  that  these  be  put  in  some  other 
type  of  package.  Possibly  the  flat  bushel  box  generally  used  for 
vegetables  might  be  used  for  these  lower  grades  of  apples  or 
some  type  of  basket  might  be  selected,  but  the  regular  bushel 
apple  box  should  be  reserved  for  good  fruit.  One  large  grower 
solved  this  problem  by  nsinpr  a  special  type  of  the  round, 
Delaware  peach  basket  for  his  ** drops"  and  other  lower 
grades  of  apples.     These  grades  were  never  put  into  any  other 


PEACHES 


261 


receptacles,  and  no  good  apples  were  ever  put  into  these  baskets. 
There  is  a  third  class  of  package  for  apples  which  is  just  now 
coming  into  prominence  and  which  is  bound  to  become  of  more 
and  more  importance.  That  is  the  small  retail  package  holding 
from  a  few  quarts  up  to  perhaps  half  a  bushel.  These  packages 
are  principally  of  two  types,  either  baskets  or  cartons.  They  have 
the  advantages  from  the  standpoint  of  the  consumer,  that  they 
can  be  carried  easily  in  the  hand,  that  they  keep  the  fruit  in 
good  condition  and  tliat  they  hold  so  little  fruit  that  the  ques- 
tion of  storage  is  not  important.  They  thus  obviate  the  greatest 
difficulty  which  is  experienced  with  the  barrel,  and  even  with 
the  box,  namely  that  the  ordinary  household  cannot  use  all  the 
apples  before  they  begin  to  decay. 


Fig.  124. — An  attractive  face  to  n  barml  of  apples.     Such  a  barrel  of  apples  is  sure  to 
attract  attention,  and  it  the  middle  i.s  as  good  as  the  face  it  is  sure  to  malce  friends. 

For  pears  we  have  almost  the  same  packages  as  for  apples, 
except  that  they  are  shipped  quite  largely  in  half  barrels  instead 
of  in  barrels,  and  that  the  pear  box  is  of  a  different  size  from 
the  apple  box,  being  18  x  IIV2  ^  ^^2  inches  inside  measure. 

Peaches  are  shipped  principally  in  three  types  of  packages: 
The  Delaware  peach  basket,  holding  from  5  quarts  to  16  quarts, 
usually  in  the  latter  size ;  the  Georgia  six-basket  carrier ;  and  the 
climax  peach  basket,  a  relatively  new  package.  One  of  the 
climax  baskets  is  shown,  filled  with  apples,  in  Figure  145.  It 
has  the  advantage  of  being  a  small  package  which  is  quite  rigid 
so  as  to  protect  the  fruit  well.     It  also  packs  well  into  cars. 


262  GRADING  AND  PACKING 

In  western  sections  we  have  also  the  four-basket  carrier  and  the 
peach  box.  The  box  is  18  inches  long  by  II1/2  inches  wide  and 
is  made  in  three  different  depths — 4,  4I/2  and  5  inches. 

Plums  are  packed  in  practically  the  same  packages  as  peaches. 

Cherries  go  to  market  principally  in  two  kinds  of  packages, 
either  in  strawberry  baskets  and  crates  or,  the  fancy  western 
cherries,  in  boxes  varying  in  capacity  from  eight  to  thirty  pounds. 
Sometimes  these  fancy  cherries  are  also  packed  in  one-pound 
cartons. 

Packing  Apples, — Since  the  barrel  must  long  remain  the  most 
important  package  for  apples  it  seems  worth  while  to  discuss. 


Fig.  125. — Stemmers;  shears  for  removing  the  stems  from  the  face  apples  when  packing 
in  barrels. 

in  some  detail,  the  equipment  for  packing  apples  in  barrels  and 
the  operation  of  so  packing  them. 

The  table  for  barrel  packing  ought  to  be  fairly  large,  for,  the 
fruit  being  rarely  graded  beforehand,  the  operator  needs  a 
rather  large  supply  from  which  to  choose.  A  table  which  is 
three  by  six  feet  and  six  inches  deep  (with  six-incli  boards 
around)  will  be  found  a  good  size,  and  the  sides  and  bottom 
should  be  padded  with  or  made  of  burlap  or  some  such  material 
to  keep  the  fruit  from  bruising.  A  table  of  tliis  size  which  is 
mounted  upon  two  carpenter's  "horses,"  instead  of  having 
rigid  legs  of  its  own,  can  be  hung  up  on  the  wall  out  of  the  way 


PACKING  APPLES 


263 


when  not  in  use.    There  should  also  be  several  swing-bail  baskets 
and  a  press. 

There  are  several  styles  of  presses  on  the  market,  principally 
either  the  lever  or  the  screw  type.  The  screw  press  with  a 
circle  follower  shown  in  Figure  127  is  preferable,  but  the  lever 
press  is  very  popular  with  many  packers  and  can  perhaps  be 
worked  more  quickly,  but  it  may  not  do  quite  as  good  work. 
The  circular  follower  is  much  better  than  the  old  bar-follower 


Fio.  126. — The  ordinary  barrel  press  with  a  bar  follower.    This  is  not  nearly  bo  good  as  the 
press  shown  in  Figure  127. 

Fig.  127. — Barrel  press  with  circle  follower.    Any  blacksmith  can  make  such  a  follower  and 
it  is  a  great  improvement  over  the  old  bar  follower. 

because  it  touches  the  entire  circumference  of  the  barrel  head, 
thus  insuring  its  going  down  more  evenly  than  with  the  bar 
(Fig.  126) .  Presses  with  circular  followers  are  now  manufactured 
and  may  be  secured  from  some  dealers,  or  the  follower  may  be 
made  by  any  good  blacksmith,  using  quarter-inch  bar  iron. 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  should  be  a  stemmer  (Fig.  125) 
for  removing  the  stems  from  the  apples  of  the  face  layer,  a  good 
stencil  for  marking  the  head,  and  a  false  or  padded  head.     The 


264 


GRADING  AND  PACKING 


false  head  is  merely  a  round  piece  of  board  slightly  smaller  than 
the  barrel  head  and  padded  on  one  side.  This  is  used  when  the 
barrel  is  nearly  full,  for  pressing  the  apples  down  in  order  to 
get  a  smooth  surface  on  which  to  lay  the  ' '  tail ' '  or  last  layer  of 
the  barrel.  In  packing  good  fniit  one  ought  also  to  have 
corrugated  pasteboard  heads,  paper  caps  and  lace  circles.  The 
corrugated  cardboard  heads  are  circular  and  just  large  enough 
to  fit  into  the  head  of  the  barrel  and  are  designed  to  prevent 
bruising  of  the  face  layer  of  apples.     It  ought  to  be  said  here 

that  some  orchard  men  prefer 
^  not  to  use  these,  but  others 

believe  that  they  serve  a  use- 
ful purpose.  The  paper  cap 
is  a  similar  affair  except  that 
it  is  of  paper  and  may  also  be 
printed  (Fig.  152),  and  is  de- 
signed as  an  additional  pro- 
tection and  for  advertising 
purposes.  The  lace  circle 
(Fig.  124)  is  merely  for 
ornament,  to  make  the  barrel 
look  attractive  when  opened 
in  the  market. 

The  operation  of  packing 
a  harrel  of  apples  in  new  bar- 
rels may  now  be  given  in  de- 
tail. First,  nail  one  head  of 
the  barrel,  using  about  six  five-penny  nails;  next,  loosen  the 
hoops  at  the  other  end  and  take  out  this  head ;  third,  drive  down 
the  quarter  hoops  snug  and  nail  them  with  three  small  nails  (lath 
nails  are  good),  which  should  always  be  clinched  on  the  inside  of 
the  barrel,  otherwise  many  apples  will  be  damaged.  Put  into  the 
barrel  a  corrugated  head  with  the  smooth  side  up,  a  paper  cap 
and  a  lace  circle.  Be  sure  that  the  latter  is  put  in  with  the  best 
side  down  so  that  when  the  barrel  is  opened  in  market  that  side 
will  be  seen  and  not  the  reverse  side. 

The  barrel  is  now  ready  to  be  filled.     Select  the  apples  for 


Fig.  128.  —  Swing-bail  basket  used  in  packing 
apples  in  barrels. 


PACKING  APPLES 


265 


the  face  of  the  barrel.  These  should  be  of  iiniform  size  and  color 
(Figs.  129,  1;10,  and  131)  and  should  fairly  represent  the  con- 
tents of  the  barrel.  The  interior  of  the  barrel  may  contain 
smaller  apples  than  the  face,  but  it  should  also  contain  some 
that  are  larger.  Where  the  face  apples  are  of  uniform  size 
it  is  possible  to  tell  beforehand  exactly  how  many  it  will  take 
of  any  particular  size  to  lay  the  face.  The  following  table 
gives  the  numbers  and  arrangement  of  the  different  sizes  : 

Table  \I. — Number  and  Arrangement  of  Facing  Apples  in  Barrel. 


Diameter  of  Apples 

Number  of  Apples 
in  Face 

Number  of  Circles 
in  Face 

Number  in  Center 
of  Face 

Inches 

2}i 

48 

3 

3 

2}i 

40 

3 

1 

2Ys 

34 

3 

0 

2% 

31 

2 

4 

3 

27 

2 

3 

3K 

23 

2 

2 

3H 

19 

2 

1 

The  apples  intended  for  the  face  should  be  placed  in  a  basket 
as  selected  (Fig.  128),  and  the  stem  clipped  out  of  each  one 
(Fig.  125).  If  the  stem  is  not  removed  it  will  be  bent  over  when 
the  apple  is  placed  on  the  head  of  the  barrel,  in  laying  the  face, 
and  will  usually  break  the  skin,  thus  giving  an  opportunity  for 
decay  to  start.  When  the  required  number  of  apples  have  been 
selected,  lower  the  basket  into  the  barrel  and  pour  out  the 
apples  very  carefully.  Next  begin  and  lay  a  row  of  apples, 
stem  end  down,  around  the  outside  of  the  barrel;  then  a  second 
row  and  so  on  until  the  entire  face  is  laid.  Figures  129,  130 
and  131  will  give  a  good  idea  of  the  arrangement  of  the  apples 
in  the  different  faces.  Having  laid  the  face  there  are  three 
different  ways  in  which  we  may  proceed.  First,  we  may  pour  in 
the  apples  without  attempting  to  place  any  more ;  or,  second,  we 
may  place  a  second  layer,  or  face,  directly  upon  the  first  one; 
or,  third,  we  may  select  apples  which  have  a  red  cheek  (provided 
we  are  packing  a  red  variety)  and  place  an  apple,  with  the  red 
cheek  down,  in  each  opening  in  the  face  already  laid.     This 


266 


GRADING  AND  PACKING 


Fm.  129 

Fig.  130. — Face  of 

Fig.  131.— Face  of 


Face  of  a  barrel  of  apples  u.sing  nineteen  appks  3 ' 
in  the  center  of  two  circles. 


meter:  one  apple 


barrel  of  apples  using  27  apples  3  inches  in  diameter;  three  apples  in 

the  center  of  two  circles. 
i  barrel  of  apples  using  40  apples,  23^2  inches  in  diameter;  one  apple 
in  the  center  of  three  circles. 


PACKING  APPLES 


267 


last  is  considered  by  far  the  best  method.  It  accomplishes  two 
important  objects.  It  fills  up  the  openings  in  the  face  so  that 
the  buyer  gets  the  impression  of  a  full,  solid  barrel  of  apples 
instead  of  a  lot  of  open  space ;  and  the  red  cheeks  look  well, 
setting  off  the  apples  of  the  face. 

Having  laid  the  face,  we  next  proceed  to  fill  up  the  barrel. 
The  apples  are  put  into  the  baskets  and  each  basket,  as  filled,  is 


FiQ.  132. — A  good  type  of  packing  table  for  boxing  apples.    Notice  the  rack  for  holding  the 
box  and  the  hood  for  holding  the  wrapping  paper. 

lowered  into  the  barrel  and  carefully  emptied.  After  about 
three  baskets  have  been  put  in,  the  barrel  should  be  shaken  or 
"racked"  in  order  to  settle  them  into  place.  The  first  racking 
is  deferred  until  three  baskets  are  in  so  that  there  may  be  weight 
enough  upon  the  face  apples  to  hold  them  in  place,  but  there- 
after the  barrel  should  be  racked  after  each  basket  is  emptied 
until  it  is  nearly  full.  Then  the  "false  head"  is  put  in  and  the 
barrel  is  given  a  thorough  shaking  and  at  the  same  time  the 


268 


GRADING  AND  PACKING 


operator  exerts  as  mucli  pressure  by  hand  as  he  can  upon  this 
head.  The  object  of  this,  as  before  explained,  is  to  get  a  smooth 
surface  on  which  to  lay  the  "tail"  or  last  layer  of  apples. 

The  "tailing  off"  of  the  barrel  is  the  supreme  test  of  good 
packing.  The  whole  object  is  to  lay  a  smooth  surface  so  that 
when  the  pressure  is  put  on  it  will  be  distributed  over  the 
entire  face  and  not  confined  to  a  few  spots,  as  it  will  be  if  a 
few  apples  stick  up  above  the  rest.    Many  packers  tip  the  barrel 


Fig.  133. — Diagram  showing  method  of  starting  the  2-2  pack. 
Fig.  134. — Diagram  showing  the  method  of  starting  the  3-2  pack. 

slightly  in  order  to  slant  the  face  and  then  begin  to  lay  the 
apples  at  the  lower  side  of  this  slanting  surface.  In  this  way 
the  apples  will  stay  in  place  better  than  if  the  surface  is  level. 
The  proper  height  for  this  last  layer  is  a  somewhat  debatable 
point.  It  depends  on  the  variety  and  on  the  distance  the  fruit 
is  to  be  shipped.  Some  varieties,  such  as  Russets,  require  and 
will  stand  a  good  deal  of  pressure.  Others,  such  as  Gravensteln 
and  Northern  Spy,  will  not  stand  so  much.  Among  many 
experienced  packers  the  general  opinion  is  that  where  the  apples 


PACKING  APPLES  269 

are  well  racked,  so  as  to  get  every  one  into  its  place  and  leave 
no  open  spaces,  the  apples  should  not  project  more  than  a  half 
inch  above  the  barrel  even  when  they  are  to  be  exported.  At 
this  end  of  the  barrel  many  packers  use  what  is  called  a  "cushion- 
head"  to  put  between  the  fruit  and  the  head  of  the  barrel. 
This  cushion-head  is  merely  a  pad  of  excelsior  enclosed  in  paper 
and  is  intended  to  relieve  the  apples  from  some  of  the  bruising 


Fia.  135. 


Fia.  135. — Diagram  showing  the  arrangement  of  applea  in  the  first  and  third  layers  of  b  2-2 
box  of  apples  with  96  apples  in  the  box. 

Fig.  136. — Diagram  showing  the  arrangement  of  applea  in  the  second  and  fourth  layers 
of  a  2-2  box  of  applea  with  96  apples  in  the  box. 


that  they  would  otherwise  get.     They  serve  a  useful  purpose 
and  they  are  in  fairly  general  use  among  growers. 

Following  the  tailing  of  the  barrel,  the  cushion-head  is  put  in 
place,  then  the  head  of  the  barrel,  and  lastly  the  press.  The 
head  is  then  pressed  down  and  nailed  in  with  six  nails.  These 
should  be  driven  through  the  upper  hoop  and  the  staves  into 
the  head.  Never  nail  the  second  hoop  at  either  end  of  the 
barrel. 


270  GRADING  AND  PACKING 

Our  barrel  is  now  ready  for  marking,  which  is  done  with  a 
stencil.  This  ought  to  contain  the  name  and  address  of  the 
grower  and  the  name  and  grade  of  the  apple.  And  above  all  the 
stencil  should  be  of  plain,  large  letters. 

Scoring  Barrels  of  Apples. — As  an  indication  of  the  relative 
importance  which  is  placed  upon  the  fruit,  packing  and  package 
for  a  barrel  of  apples  it  may  be  worth  while  to  insert  here  the 
score  card  used  in  judging  barrels  at  the  Third  New  England 
Fruit  Show,  held  in  Boston  in  November,  1913. 

Score  Card  for  Barrels  of  a  Given  Variety  of  Apple 

Fbuit. — Texture   and   flavor    100 

Size     100 

Color 150 

Uniformity     150 

Freedom  from  blemishes    150 

650 

Package. — Staves     10 

Hoops    10 

Heads    10 

Nailing   20 

Marking    20 

70 

Packing. — Facing    70 

Tailing    60 

Pressing    70 

Racking     80 

280 

Total    1000 

Packing  apples  in  boxes  requires  more  skill  than  packing 
them  in  barrels.  That  is  one  objection  to  the  box.  Still,  any 
man  who  is  at  all  "handy"  will  very  soon  pick  up  the  principal 
points,  and  it  is  then  largely  a  matter  of  practice.  There  are 
two  principal  sizes  of  boxes  used.  One  is  IOI/2  inches  deep  by 
11%  inches  wide  by  18  inches  long  inside  measure,  and  the  other 
10  by  11  by  20  inches.  The  first  shape  is  preferable,  but  the 
capacity  is  a  trifle  less.  The  material  for  the  ends  should  be 
%  inch  thick,  that  of  the  sides  3^  inch  and  the  top  and  bottom 
l^  inch. 


PACKING  APPLES  IN  BOXES 


271 


A  good  type  of  packing  table  for  boxes  is  shown  in  Figure 
132.  It  is  more  shallow  and  holds  fewer  apples  than  the  table 
used  for  barrels  and  there  is  a  rack  or  shelf  at  one  end  to  hold 
the  box  in  a  slightly  slanting  position  while  it  is  being  filled. 
There  should  also  be  a  hood  for  holding  the  wraps.  A  con- 
venient type,  made  of  galvanized  sheet  iron,  is  shown  on  the 
left-hand  side  of  the  packed  box  in  Figure  132. 


FiQ.  137. — Diagram  showing  the  arrangement  of  apples  in  the  first,  third  and  fifth  layers 
of  a  3-2  box  of  apples  with  18S  apples  in  the  box. 

Fig.  138. — Diagram  showing  the  arrangement  of  apples  in  the  second  and  fourth  layers 
of  a  3-2  box  of  apples  with  188  apples  in  the  box. 

Most  boxed  apples  should  be  wrapped,  and  various  kinds  of 
tissue  and  other  light  papers  are  used  for  the  purpose.  If  they 
can  be  printed,  at  least  for  the  top  and  bottom  layers,  so  much 
the  better.  The  principal  advantages  of  wrapping  the  apples 
are  that  the  w^raps  act  as-  a  padding,  preventing  bruises  and 
enabling  the  operator  to  pack  the  fruit  more  tightly;  that  they 
prevent  the  germs  of  rots  being  transferred  from  one  apple  to 
another  and  that  they  prolong  the  life  of  the  apples.  Wraps 
are  used  in  varying  sizes,  according  to  the  size  of  the  apples  to 


272 


GRADING  AND  PACKING 


be  packed,  but  the  9  by  9  inch  size  will  be  found  most  useful. 
There  should  also  be  layer-papers,  made  of  heavy  cardboard  in 
sheets  11  by  171/^  inches,  to  be  used  between  the  layers  of  apples ; 
and  also  lining  papers,  which  are  sheets  17i/>^  by  36  inches,  of 
ordinary  wrapping  paper  or  a  similar  weight.  These  are  for 
lining  the  boxes. 

It  is  difficult  and  probably  impossible  to  give  sufficiently  ex- 
plicit directions  for  the  actual  packing  of  the  box,  so  that  one 
who  is  unfamiliai'  with  the  operation  can  become  an  expert.    In 
box  packing  we  are  all  of  us  Missou- 
/^   ^  Z'     x  y^  ^j     rians  to  the  extent  of  "needing  to  be 
shown,"  but  it  is  hoped  that  with  the 
help  of  the  diagrams  (Figs.  133-139) 
anyone  can  get  a  start  in  the  work. 

There  are  many  different  plans  or 
"packs"  in  boxing  apples,  but  they 
may  practically  all  be  classified  under 
two  heads,  the  "straight"  and  the 
"diagonal."  There  is  a  third  type  of 
pack,  known  as  the  "offset  pack," 
which  differs  from  the  diagonal 
slightly;  but  it  is  not  very  generally 
used,  and  will  be  omitted  from  our  brief 
discussion.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
straight  pack  is  now  rarely  used,  as  it 
bruises  the  apples  much  more  than  the 
diagonal.  Most  of  the  diagonal  packs  are 
either  "three-two"  or  "two-two." 
In  starting  the  first  layer  of  the  three-two  pack,  place  an  apple 
in  the  lower  right-hand  comer,  the  second  one  in  the  lower  left- 
hand  corner  and  the  third  half  way  between  these  two.  This 
leaves  two  spaces,  one  on  either  side  of  the  middle  apple,  and 
the  fourth  and  fifth  apples  are  slipped  into  these  spaces.  This, 
again,  leaves  three  spaces,  in  which  three  apples  are  placed; 
and  so  on,  until  the  layer  is  completed.  The  method  of  starting 
this  pack  is  shown  in  Figure  134.  The  second  layer  is  started 
by  putting  an  apple  over  each  of  the  spaces  between  the  apples 


Fia.  139.  —  Diagram  showing 
the  "straight"  pack.  This  pack 
is  now  little  used,  as  it  bruises  the 
apples  more  than  any  other  pack. 


PACKING  APPLES  IN  BOXES 


273 


of  the  first  layer ;  that  is,  this  second  layer  is  started  with  two 
apples  instead  of  three.  This  brings  each  apple  of  the  second 
layer  over  a  space  of  the  layer  below,  instead  of  its  resting 
directly  upon  an  apple  of  that  layer,  as  in  the  "straight"  pack. 
There  is,  therefore,  considerable  "give"  to  this  pack,  and  con- 
sequently much  less  bruising  of  the  fruit. 

The  two-two  pack  is  started  by  placing  an  apple  in  the  lower 
right-hand  corner  and  a  second  one  iu  the  middle  of  the  space 
remaining.  The  next  two  ap-  ^ 
pies  are  placed  in  the  spaces 
left  by  the  first  two,  and  so  on 
(Figs.  135  and  136). 

Layer  paper  may  or  may 
not  be  used  in  box  packing. 
When  to  use  it  is  a  point  that 
can  be  learned  only  by  experi- 
ence. It  is  used  with  certain 
sizes  and  shapes  of  apples  in 
order  to  bring  them  high 
enough  to  get  the  required 
firmness  or  compactness  in 
the  box. 

The  bulge  or  swell  is  a  cru- 
cial matter  in  box  packing. 
The  apples  must  be  put  into 
the  box  in  such  a  way  that 
when  the  top  is  put  on  and 
nailed  down,  both  the  top 
and  bottom  of  the  box  are 
pressed  out  in  the  middle,  giving  a  bulge.  It  is  the  pressure 
exerted  by  this  bulge  in  the  top  and  bottom  boards  which  keeps 
the  apples  tiglit  in  the  box.  Of  course  the  bulge  is  produced  by 
having  the  mass  or  body  of  apples  in  the  box  thicker  in  the 
middle  than  it  is  at  the  ends.  Different  packers  secure  this 
bulge  in  different  ways,  but  the  three  principal  methods  seem  to 
be  as  follows:  First,  pack  the  apples  a  little  tighter  in  the 
central  part  of  each  layer  than  they  are  at  the  ends.  In  this 
18 


Fig.    140. — A  western  type  of  box  pieoa. 


274 


GRADING  AND  PACKING 


way,  when  the  cover  is  nailed  on,  the  apples  press  together 
more  at  the  ends  than  in  the  middle  and  we  get  the  bulge  as  a 
result.     Second,  selecting  just  a  little  larger  apples  for  this 


Fio    141. — An  bxcellent  type  of  box  press  which  can  be  made  at  home  by  anyone  %vho  i 
handy  with  tools. 


middle  part  of  each  layer.  Third,  turn  the  apples  on  the  side 
or  end  in  order  to  bring  them  at  the  right  height.  Some  packers 
will  tell  you  that  they  do  not  do  anything  to  secure  the  bulge, 


PACKING  FRUIT  INTO  OTHER  TYPES  OF  PACKAGES     275 

that  it  ''just  comes  that  Avay,"  but  of  course  this  merely  means 
that  in  their  cases  the  method  is  carried  out  unconsciously. 

Scoring  Boxes  of  Apples. — The  following  score  card  is  the 
one  used  in  judging  boxes  at  the  New  England  Fruit  Show  in 
Boston  in  1913.  It  represents  fairly  accurately  the  relative 
importance  placed  on  the  various  points  which  enter  into  a  well- 
packed  box  of  apples. 

Bcorc  Card  for  Boxes  of  a  Given  Variety  of  Apples 

Fruit. — Texture   and    flavor  100 

Size    100^ 

Color   150 

Uniformity 150 

Freedom  from  blemishes 150 

650 

Package. — Material    30 

Marking    10 

Solidity   (nailing,  cleats,  etc.) 10 

50 

Packing. — Bulge  or  swell    100 

Alignment     20 

Height  of  ends   60 

Comj^actness     80 

Attractiveness  and  style  of  pack 40 

300 

Total    1000 

The  packing  of  fruit  into  the  other  types  of  packages  has  not 
been  so  well  reduced  to  a  system,  and  in  many  cases  probably 
never  will  be.  It  is  largely  a  question  of  getting  a  smooth, 
attractive  "face"  on  the  package  that  shall  fairly  represent  the 
contents  and  still  tempt  the  customer  to  buy  (Figs.  145,  146, 
147  and  148). 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  are  the  advantages  of  grading  fruit? 

2.  Name  and  define  three  standard  grades  of  apples. 

3.  Mention  three  kinds  of  apple  packages  and  give  the  advantages  of  each. 

4.  What  packages  are  used  for  pears? 

5.  What  for  peaches? 


276  GRADING  AND  PACKING 

6.  What  for  plums? 

7.  What  for  cherries? 

8.  Give  a  list  of  the  equipment  needed  in  packing  barrels  of  apples. 

9.  How   is  the  barrel  prepared   for   packing? 

10.  Describe  the  "  facing  "  of  the  barrel. 

11.  How  is  the  barrel  then  filled? 

12.  Describe  how  to  place  the  apples  of  the  last  layer,  and  '"  head  up  "  the 

barrel. 

13.  What  are  the  main  points  considered  in  scoring  barrels  of  apples? 

14.  Name  the  different  kinds  of  "  packs  "  for  boxes. 

15.  Describe  the  packing  of  apples  in  boxes. 

16.  What  are  the  points  considered  in  scoring  boxes  of  apples? 

17.  What  styles  of  fruit  packages  have  you  seen  in  market? 


CHAPTER  XX 
MARKETING 

The  greatest  single  problem  in  marketing  fruit  is  to  have 
good  fruit  (Fig.  142).  Beside  this  problem  all  others  sink  into 
insigiiifieajiee.  Given  such  frait  there  can  be  developed  a 
market  for  almost  any  quantity.  In  fact,  it  will  sell  itself. 
If  this  truth  could  only  be  brought  home  to  our  orchard  men, 
and  if  they  could  only  be  made  to  adopt  such  methods  as  would 


Fio.  142. — The  greatest  single  problem  in  marketing  fruit  is  to  have  good  fruit.  Fruit 
like  that  shown  above,  which  was  picked  up  in  the  local  market  at  Amherst,  will  not  tend 
to  increase  the  consumption. 

insure  yearly  crops  of  such  fruit  (and  there  are  methods  that 
will  make  this  reasonably  certain),  there  would  be  little  difficulty 
in  anything  else.  In  fact,  the  fruit  growers'  millennium  would 
have  arrived.  Some  of  the  things  which  seem  most  important 
in  bringing  about  this  result  have  been  discussed  in  this  book. 

The  next  greatest  problem  is  to  pack  it  honestly  and  care- 
f  ally.  This  was  discussed  in  the  last  chapter.  The  man  whose 
fruit  is  invariably  well  packed,  and  who  has  the  reputation  of 
getting  just  as  good,  or  a  little  better,  fruit  in  the  middle  of  the 
package  than  is  on  top,  is  never  going  to  lack  for  customers. 

277 


278 


MARKETING 


The  discussion  in  this  chapter  will  presuppose  that  the  orehardist 
has  been  measurably  successful  in  growing  a  crop  of  good  fruit, 
and  that  it  has  been  properly  packed  for  market.  How  shall  it 
be  disposed  of  to  the  best  advantage  ?  This  is  our  next  problem. 
The  Best  Market. — We  ought  first  to  consider  with  the  ut- 
most care  just  what  are  the  requirements  of  the  particular 
market  we  intend  to  supply.    As  already  suggested,  under  the 


Pio.  143. — Boxes  of  weatem  apples.    The  use  of  the  box  and  careful,  honest  packing  have 

made  the  western  apple  famous. 


discussion  of  varieties,  the  general  type  of  market  should  be 
decided  upon  before  the  orchard  is  ever  set.  Of  course  condi- 
tions are  going  to  control  largely  whether  the  owner  should 
develop  a  special  or  retail  market,  or  whether  he  is  going  to 
rely  upon  the  general  market.  If  he  is  too  far  away  from 
his  customers  it  is  relatively  difficult  to  develop  a  special  market. 
Yet  it  is  surprising  to  what  an  extent  a  special  market  may  be 
developed  by  proper  methods  when  one  has  really  fine  fruit 


THE  BEST  MARKET 


279 


(Fig.  143).  There  is  not  the  slightest  question  that  the  special, 
retail  market  is  the  one  which  pays  if  it  is  well  worked  up. 

Some  one  has  said  that  the  great  difficulty  with  farmers  is 
that  they  sell  at  wholesale  and  buy  at  retail ;  and  this  difficulty 
is  nowhere  better  shown  than  in  the  fruit  business.  The  less 
fruit  you  can  sell  a  customer,  at  one  time,  the  more  he  is  willing 
to  pay  for  it.  Did  you  ever  stop  to  think  of  that?  Take  it  in 
apples.  A  man  is  usually  quite  willing  to  pay  five  cents  for  a 
single  apple  and  sometimes  ten  cents  for  a  really  fine  one ;  and 
he  thinks  he  is  getting  a  bargain  at  two  for  five.  But  attempt  to 
sell  him  a  barrel  at  these  rates,  and  he  thinks  that  you  are  com- 
mitting highway  robbery.  A  barrel  will  hold  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty  to  four  hundred  apples  of  average  size.  Taking  the 
latter  number,  if  these  are  sold  at  ten  cents  it  means  $40;  at 
five  cents,  $20 ;  and  at  two  for  five  $10  for  the  barrel.  No  one 
would  suggest  that  we  sell  apples  at  $40  per  barrel,  but  we  should 
come  just  as  near  to  retailing  them  direct  to  the  consumer  as 
we  can. 

The  following  table  brings  out  the  point  just  discussed  and 
is  worthy  of  study  by  every  fruit  grower: 


Table  VII. — Value  of  a  Barrel  of  Apples  when  Sold  in  Retail  Lots,  Estimating 
350  Apples  per  Barrel 


Unit  of  Quantity 


Single  apple 

Single  apple 

Single  apple 

One  dozen  apples . 
One  dozen  apples. 
One  dozen  apples. 
One  dozen  apples. 
One  pork  apples . . 
One  perk  apples. . 
One  peck  apples . . 
One  bushel  apples 
One  bushel  apples 
One  bushel  apples 
One  bushel  apples 


Price  per  Unit 

Value  of  a  Barrel  at 
This  Rate 

2j^c.  each 

$   8.75 

5c.  each 

17.50 

10c.  each 

35.00 

25c.  dozen 

7.29 

40c.  dozen 

11.66 

50c.  dozen 

14.58 

60c.  dozen 

17.50 

25c.  peck 

3.00 

50c.  peck 

6.00 

60c.  peck 

7.20 

SI. 00  bushel 

3.00 

1.50  bushel 

4.50 

2.00  bushel 

6.00 

2.50  bushel 

7.50 

280 


MARKETING 


The  special  market,  too,  will  usually  respond  at  once  to  any 
improvement  in  quality  or  pack  (Figs.  144,  145,  146  and  147). 
If  you  are  selling  through  a  good  grocery  store,  which  is  one  of 
the  very  best  methods,  the  consumer  knows  who  furnishes  the 
fruit,  and  if  it  is  good  he  asks  for  more  of  your  brand;  while 
if  you  ship  into  the  general  market  there  is  much  less  chance 
that  special  effort  will  receive  special  reward.  "Where  the 
grower  can  secure  such  a  market  he  should,  if  possible,  retain 
control  of  the  price  for  which  the  fruit  is  sold.  If  he  is  reason- 
ably close  to  his  market,  and  if  he  has  confidence  in  his  grocery- 
man,  he  can  usually  afford 
to  assume  any  loss  due  to 
decay.  When  this  is  done  the 
grocer  is  usually  willing  to 
accept  really  good  fruit  on  the 
commission  basis. 

When  the  grower  does  keep 
control  of  the  price  he  can 
lower  it  if  necessary  to  move 
his  crop  of  perishable  fruit 
faster;  and  at  the  same  time 
that  he  is  getting  more  for  his 
fruit  the  consumer  is  usually 
paying  less  for  it. 

Then  if  a  man  is  to  develop 
and  maintain  this  special  mar- 
ket, it  is  very  desirable  that 
he  should  keep  up  a  continu- 
ous supply  of  each  fruit. 
This  was  discussed  under  varieties,  but  is  worth  mention- 
ing again.  If  your  customers  are  watching  for  your  brand 
do  not  disappoint  them  at  any  point  in  the  season.  The  writer 
recalls  an  instance  where  a  man  actually  refused  a  dollar  a 
barrel  more  for  his  Spies  than  he  could  get  at  his  regular 
market  because  he  did  not  want  to  disappoint  and  lose  his 
customers.  To  carry  out  this  plan  the  fruit  grower  must  not 
only  have  a  good  list  of  varieties  but  he  should  have  good 
storage  facilities  as  well. 


Fir;,  141. — Pastrbnard  carton  for  fanry 
apples.  This  package  will  carry  the  fruit 
perfectly,  but  it  is  too  costly  for  anything 
but  very  high-grade  fruit. 


THE  GENERAL  MARKET 


281 


The  General  Market. — Where  the  orchard  is  situated  so  that 
the  owner  cannot  develop  a  retail  market  he  mnst  rely  on  the 
general  market.  In  this  case  he  sells  either  to  a  buyer  at  the 
orchard  or  through  a  commission  man.  There  is  a  good  deal 
to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  former  method.  The  buyer  and  the 
seller  are  more  nearly  on  an  equality  than  in  the  latter.  If  the 
buyer  docs  not  want  to  pay  what  the  grower  thinks  the  fruit  is 
worth  it  can  remain  on  the  farm.    And  an  additional  advantage  is 


Fig.  145. — The  climax  peach  basket  used  as  a  retail  package  for  apples.  This  package 
has  much  to  commend  it.  It  is  cheap,  carries  the  fruit  in  good  condition  and  will  pack 
well  into  cars. 

that  one  gets  rid  of  the  entire  crop  with  relatively  little  worry, 
and  he  can  then  give  his  attention  to  other  matters.  He  also 
has  his  money  for  use  and  is  saved  considerable  loss  from  shrink- 
age. On  the  whole,  there  is  considerable  argument  for  selling 
to  a  buyer  at  the  orchard.  It  is  not  as  good  as  the  retail  plan, 
but  stands  next  to  it. 

Frequently,  however,  the  grower  has  to  sell  through  a  com- 
mission man.    This  is  the  poorest  type  of  marketing,  not  because 


282 


MARKETING 


commission  men  are  dishonest,  but  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
method.  Even  the  commission  men  themselves  will  admit  that 
there  are  dishonest  men  in  the  business,  which  makes  the  situation 
still  worse.  It  puts  temptation  in  the  path  of  the  commission 
man  which  is  unnecessary.  There  is  the  same  objection  to  it  as  to 
the  sod-culture  method.  It  may  do  when  properly  carried  out, 
but  there  is  always  danger  that  it  will  fail.  The  chief  objections 
to  this  plan  are  two: 


Fig.  146. — Climax  peach  basket  with  cover  on.    This  type  of  cover  holds  the  package  rigid 

so  that  the  fruit  is  not  damaged. 


First,  the  grower  is  practically  at  the  mercy  of  the  commis- 
sion man.  The  latter  can  put  down  any  amount  he  chooses  in 
making  his  returns  and  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred  the 
grower  will  never  be  the  wiser.  Such  laws  as  the  one  in  New 
York,  which  is  discussed  in  Chapter  XXII,  will  undoubtedly 
help  to  mend  matters,  but  they  can  not  altogether  remove  the 
difficulty.  The  grower  is  still  very  largely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
commission  man. 


COOPERATIVE  MARKETING 


283 


The  second  objection  is  that  by  this  method  there  is  usually 
little  chance  of  holding  the  fruit,  in  case  the  market  is  not  satis- 
factory. The  fruit  is  there,  it  must  be  disposed  of,  and  the  seller 
must  take  what  he  can  get  for  it. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  becomes  absolutely  essential 
to  find  an  honest  commission  man.  There  are  plenty  of  them. 
Having  found  one  then  stick  to  him.  Do  not  be  led  away  simply 
because  your  neighbor  happens  to  get  a  little  more  for  his  fruit 
on  a  certain  day  than  you  did.  Perhaps  his  fruit  was  better  or 
perhaps  his  commission  man  was  simply  trying  to  draw  trade. 


Pig.  147. — Splint  basket  used  for  apples.    A  Btore  window  filled  with  these  baskets  makes 
aa  attractive  sight  and  one  which  it  is  difficult  for  the  customer  to  pass  by. 

FiQ.  14S. — An  attractive  package  for  the  retail  trade. 

it  is  a  very  common  custom,  and  especially  with  the  man  who  is 
not  too  scrupulous,  to  make  some  uncommonly  good  returns  early 
in  the  season  in  order  to  draw  trade.  Do  not  be  fooled  by  it. 
Call  the  attention  of  your  own  commission  man  to  it  if  you 
like ;  it  may  spur  him  on.    But  do  not  leave  him. 

Cooperative  Marketing. — The  best  method  of  marketing  fruit 
where  it  can  be  properly  carried  out  is  undoubtedly  cooperation. 
The  western  states  have  amply  demonstrated  this  in  the  splendid 
results  that  they  have  secured.  The  chief  advantages  of  coopera- 
tion seem  to  be: 


284  MARKETING 

1.  It  utilizes  the  best  business  talent  of  the  community. 
This  is  a  crucial  point.  It  is  only  one  man  in  a  thousand  who 
has  the  head  to  run  such  a  business,  and  the  cooperative  method 
picks  him  out  and  lets  him  run  the  business  for  the  community. 
The  rest  of  the  men  are  free  to  devote  their  attention  to  produc- 
ing a  crop  of  good  fruit  for  the  manager  to  sell,  and  anyone  who 
has  ever  tried  it  knows  that  this  is  a  serious  enough  proposition 
in  itself.  It  is  no  discredit  to  farmers  as  a  class  to  say  that  not 
many  of  them  are  good  business  men.  Neither  are  many  of  the 
men  in  the  hardware  business.  But  the  fellows  who  are  not  do 
not  try  to  manage  the  business.  They  do  something  else — sell 
goods  or  make  goods. 

2.  The  distribution  of  the  output  is  better.  The  members  do 
not  all  ship  to  Boston  one  day  and  to  New  York  the  next,  but  all 
the  markets  are  uniformly  supplied.  The  manager  looks  after 
that.  If  there  is  an  association  of  associations,  as  there  usually 
is  when  the  scheme  is  well  started,  the  control  of  the  distribution 
is  just  that  much  better. 

3.  The  fruit  is  handled  in  large  lots  and  therefore  better 
freight  rates  can  be  secured.  The  car-load  shipment  is  much 
more  economical  than  the  small  lot. 

4.  The  association  can  adopt  methods  of  advertising  that 
would  not  be  open  to  the  single  grower.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  single  grower  usually  does  not  advertise  at  all ;  but  even  if 
he  does,  there  are  many  kinds  of  advertising  that  he  cannot 
afford. 

5.  The  manager  of  an  association  can  keep  in  telegraphic 
touch  with  the  markets  and  thus  know  better  whether  to  ship 
or  not,  and,  if  so,  where. 

Objections  to  Cooperation. — All  these  advantages  and  many 
more  are  claimed  and  usually  admitted  for  cooperation.  Then 
why  do  we  not  have  more  associations?  There  are  probably 
many  reasons,  but  the  one  chiefly  responsible  seems  to  be  con- 
servatism. The  farmer  has  always  run  his  own  business  and 
thinks  he  can  do  so  still.  Distrust  of  each  other  among  farmers 
is  also  usually  given  and  probably  is  an  important  reason  for 
lack  of  cooperation.     Someone  has  said  that  most  men  would 


UTILIZING  LOW-GRADE  FRUITS  285 

rather  lose  two  dollars  than  see  their  neighbor  make  one,  and 
while  this  principle  can  hardly  be  endorsed,  there  is  undoubtedly 
some  truth  in  it.  Another  very  important  reason  seems  to  be 
that  the  best  growers  in  the  community  usually  do  not  make 
much  by  joining  the  association  and  sometimes  even  lose  some- 
thing. This  is  because  they  have  already  been  receiving  the 
highest  prices  for  fancy  fruits.  Since  they  are  the  ones  who 
must  usually  take  the  lead  in  such  matters,  the  scheme  is  likely  to 
languish  unless  they  are  of  a  somewhat  self-sacrificing  turn  of 
mind. 

A  further  difficulty  which  is  usually  experienced  is  that  the 
packing  varies  too  much  in  the  different  packing  houses.  This 
is  pretty  certain  to  be  so  unless  the  packing  is  all  done  under 
one  central  supervision.  This  plan  has  been  used  in  some 
sections  of  the  northwest  and  seems  to  work  well.  An  experi- 
enced packer  is  put  in  charge  of  each  gang  of  hands,  and  he  is 
responsible,  not  to  the  owner  of  the  fruit,  but  to  the  association. 
This  obviates  the  difficulty  which  one  speaker  expressed  by 
saying  that  no  man  ought  to  pack  his  own  apples  because  it  is 
so  hard  for  him  to  see  a  worm-hole. 

Utilizing  Low-grade  Fruits. — It  remains  to  say  a  word  aliout 
utilizing  the  poorer  grades  of  fruit.  Of  course,  we  may  say  that 
there  should  not  be  any  such  grades,  and  it  is  quite  true  that 
entirely  too  much  of  our  fruit  belongs  in  this  class.  But  even 
with  the  best  of  treatment  there  is  going  to  be  some  of  this  sort 
of  fruit  produced,  and  it  is  a  ver>'  important  question  what  dis- 
posal should  be  made  of  it.  Usually  it  is  put  on  the  market  and 
allowed  to  bring  what  it  will.  Most  men  who  market  these 
inferior  grades  of  fruit  (such  as  poor  -windfalls  and  wormy 
specimens)  do  not  appreciate  the  depressing  influence  which 
this  sort  of  fruit  has  on  the  market.  Because  they  are  getting 
some  cash  for  their  fruit  they  think  it  is  a  better  bargain 
than  to  let  it  lie  on  the  ground  and  rot.  Perhaps  it  is  looking 
at  it  from  their  own  selfish  standpoint,  though  even  this  is  to  be 
doubted,  if  they  are  growing  any  good  fruit  in  addition.  But 
if  we  look  at  it  from  the  standpoint  of  the  larger  interest  of 
the  industry  as  a  whole  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever.    These 


286  MARKETING 

grades  ought  never  to  be  put  upon  the  market  in  a  fresh  state, 
but  should  be  canned  or  made  into  jams,  jellies,  vinegar,  and 
other  products.  Every  fruit-growing  community  ought  to  have 
its  canning  plant,  and  the  time  will  come  when  it  will.  Not 
only  will  such  a  plant  take  care  of  the  poor  grades  at  all  times, 
but  it  will  also  take  the  good  grades  in  times  when  the  market 
is  glutted,  and  thus  reduce  the  frequency  of  such  depressions. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  Discuss  tlie  eifect  of  "  quality  "  upon  the  marketing  of  fruit. 

2.  Compare  wholesale  and  retail  markets. 

3.  Show  the  advantage,  to  the  grower,  of  selling  in  small  quantities. 

4.  What  are  the  objections  to  selling  through  a  commission  man? 

5.  What  are  the  advantages  of  selling  to  a  buyer  at  the  orchard? 

6.  ^\^lat  are  the  advantages  of  cooperative  marketing? 

7.  What  objections  are  there  to  this  method? 

8.  How  should  low-grade  fruit  be  utilized? 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
ADVERTISING. 

Did  you  ever  stop  to  think  what  a  tremendous  amount  of  time, 
money,  energy,  brains,  and  a  lot  of  other  less  important  things, 
are  spent  on  advertising,  on  getting  the  producer  and  the  con 
sumer  together?  And  on  making  consumers  out  of  non-con- 
sumers? The  writer  is  not  much  of  a  Socialist  as  yet,  but  when 
he  thinks  of  the  saving  that  would  result  if  this  one  item  of  ad- 
vertising were  cut  out  by  eliminating  competition,  he  is  tempted 
to  change  over  at  once.  So  long,  however,  as  the  present  arrange- 
ment holds  and  every  one  who  has  anything  to  sell  must  depend 
on  his  own  efforts  to  get  rid  of  it,  advertising  is  going  to  be  a  very 
important  factor  in  any  man's  success.  So  strong  is  this  factor 
that  it  seems  worth  while  to  devote  an  entire  chapter  to  the 
subject. 

METHODS    OF    AD\T:rTISING 

There  are  innumerable  ways  in  which  one  may  advertise  his 
wares,  but  the  following  are  among  the  best : 

A  Name  and  a  Sign. — Have  a  name  for  the  farm  or  the 
orchard.  The  more  distinctive  and  attractive  this  name  can  be  the 
more  assistance  it  is  going  to  be  in  advertising.  But  almost  any 
name  will  help.  It  serves  to  locate  the  goods,  to  make  the  con- 
sumer remember  where  those  fine  apples  came  from.  Having 
decided  on  a  name,  put  up  a  sign  on  the  highway.  Let  it  be  an 
attractive,  artistic  sign  if  you  can,  but  even  a  plain,  rectangular 
board  with  the  name  on  it  is  better  than  nothing.  If  the  name 
can  have  special  local  significance,  and  iu  particular  if  it  can  be 
such  a  name  as  is  not  likely  to  be  chosen  by  anyone  else,  so  much 
the  better.  The  following  are  examples  of  good  names:  "Hill- 
crest  Orchards, "  "  Fairview  Orchards  "  "  Seaview  Farm, "  "  Bay 
Road  Fruit  Farm. ' ' 

A  Farm  Bulletin  Board. — Do  some  local  advertising  at  the 

287 


288 


ADVERTISING 


farm  by  means  of  a  bulletin  board  on  the  highway.  It  will  sur- 
prise anyone  who  has  never  tried  it  to  see  what  this  will  do.  In 
these  days  when  so  many  people  own  automobiles,  the  number 
who  will  pass  by  the  farm,  particularly  if  it  is  on  a  main  thorough- 
fare, is  surprising.  A  great  many  of  these  travellers  are  city 
people,  to  whom  anything  from  the  country  that  is  really  good 
will  appeal.  Choice  fruit  appeals  more  than  anything  else. 
Usually  these  customers  are  perfectly  willing  to  pay  a  good  price, 


Superior  Quality -Fully  Guaranteed 

HALE'S  FRUITS 


AUvAv 


SBESTIN 


MARKET 


5cientifically  Grown*  Ripened  on  the  Tree 


LARGEST  PEACH  GROWERS  IN  THE  WORLD 

-.JZaOOOTrees  i5;^RCHARD  CO.^V^«^  II 


SAME  ALL  THROUGH  "U.C.TOP-U.C.  ALL' 


Fig.  149. — Probably  the  most  famous  fruit  label  in  use. 

too,  for  a  fancy  article,  so  that  they  really  offer  an  excellent  op- 
portnnity  to  the  enterprising  orchardist.  It  is  true  that  the  sign 
has  to  be  decidedly  conspicuous  to  be  seen  by  some  of  them  as 
they  flash  past,  but  the  fruit  grower  will  soon  get  a  name  for  fine 
peaches  or  choice  apples,  so  that  the  automobile  fraternity  will 
be  on  the  watch  for  his  sign.  And  among  the  more  slowly  moving 
classes  of  humanity  who  pass  by  there  will  be  many  a  one  who  will 
want  something  that  is  for  sale. 

Adopt  some  attractive  label  for  the  package.  The  western 
apple  and  orange  growers  have  worked  this  method  more  ardently 
and  consistently  than  those  of  any  other  section,  and  no  one  can 


USE  AN  ATTRACTIVE  PRINTED  WRAP  289 

compute  the  sales  it  has  made  for  them.    The  buyer  is  never  left 
in  doubt  as  to  who  grew  this  western  fruit. 

As  with  the  farm  or  orchard  name,  so  with  this  label — the 
more  distinctive  it  can  be  the  better.  It  is  not  always  the  most 
gaudy  label  that  is  remembered  the  longest.     Perhaps  the  most 


A  MONTANA  McINTOSH 

Young  Orchards  Bear  Profitable 
Crops  in  Five  Years.  5500  to  51000 
Per  Acre  From  Bearing  Orchards 

tot  Particulars  Write  to 

STEVENS  O JONES 

Table  Rock.  Montana. 


Fia.  150. — A  good  type  of  advertising  wrapper.    Half  natural  width. 

widely  known  single  label  of  this  class  is  Mr.  J.  H.  Hale's  famous 
red  label,  a  cut  of  which  is  shown  in  Figure  149. 

Use  an  attractive  printed  wrap  for  such  fruits  as  apples, 
pears  and  oranges.  When  ordered  in  large  numbers  the  printing 
does  not  add  much  to  the  cost  of  the  wrap,  and  it  may  frequently 
be  made  the  means  of  attracting  the  consumer 's  attention  to  the 


im  AND  PACKED  BY 

J.  ELLIOT  SNim 


290  ADVERTISING 

orchard  that  produced  the  fruit.  Here  is  a  sample  of  a  wrap 
which  was  sent  out  with  a  Montana  Mcintosh  apple.  Evidently 
those  men  believed  in  the  wrap  as  an  advertising  medium,  and 
whether  we  swallow  all  the  statements  on  the  wrap  or  not,  we  shall 
at  least  swallow  the  apple  (if  it  is  good  as  most  Mcintosh  apples 
are),  and  we  shall  know  where  to  go  when  we  want  more  apples 
like  it  (Fig.  150). 

Printed  Matter  in.  Fruit  Packages. — Where  fruit  is  sold  in 
packages  put  some  sort  of  advertising  matter  into  the  package. 

This  is  capable  of  endless 
variations,  but  almost  any 
of  them  will  be  of  value. 
In  apple  barrels  there  is  the 
"pulp-head"  or  the  "paper- 
^^^  cap."    A  sample  of  these  is 

4^      —-.«=-       ^  shown  in  Figure  151.     They 

^  GROWHND  PACKED  BY  <^  ,  ,      .^,     .    .,      ,,       , 

difter  only  m  that  the     pulp- 

fKw  orchard'"'  liead"  is  a  light  cardboard. 

^    nnrtva:*  .  fc^*  Besides  furnishing  an  excel- 

^jVwi'\\]Cv  lent  type  of  advertising,  they 

serve    a    useful    purpose    in 

protecting  the  fruit  and,  as 

I with  wraps,  the  extra  cost  of 

Fig.  151.— a  good  type  of  advertising  for   printing    is    relatively    Small 

apple  barrels.    It  calls  the  attention  of  the  con-         i  ,1  t  i      • 

sumer  to  the  man  who  grew  the  fruit,  which  is     wlieU     they     are      Ordcrcd      in 
a  good  thing  to  do  if  the  fruit  is  good. 

large  numbers. 

Another  type  of  advertising  which  may  be  included  in  any 
sort  of  package  is  a  little  leaflet  which  guarantees  the  pack. 
Nothing  will  give  your  customer  so  much  confidence  in  your  fruit 
as  to  find  out  that  you  are  willing  to  stand  back  of  it.  Here  are 
reproduced  two  such  leaflets  from  the  opposite  sides  of  the  conti- 
nent, which  are  good  examples  of  this  excellent  plan  of  adver- 
tising (Figs.  152  and  153). 

Still  another  type  of  leaflet  is  that  which  takes  the  customer 
into  your  confidence,  tells  him  something  about  your  orchard 
and  your  plans  and,  rather  incidentally,  about  your  fruit.  It 
takes  some  literary  ability  to  get  out  a  good  one,  but  if  the  grower 


PRINTED  MATTER  IN  FRUIT  PACKAGES 


291 


THIS  BOX  PACKED  BY 

Packer  No.  - 

If  purchaser  of  this  box  finds  any  Ir- 

regularity   tn    the    pack,    kindly    return 

this  card    with    any    Information    which 

may  help  us  to  make  pack  more  perfect 

In  the  future. 

Sierra  Vista  Packing  Co. 

RIVERSIDE,  CALIFORNIA 

FiQ.  152. — An  excellent  "guarantee"  label  from  the  Pacific  Coast. 


NOTICE! 


'uit- was  packed  at  the  "Riverside"  Fruit 
Farm,  Middleton,  Annapolis  Co.,  Nova  Scotia. 
Having  large  interest  in  growing  orchards  in  the 
Annapolis  Valley,  1  am  very  desirous  of  having  my 
brand  known  abroad  for  its  invariable  reliability, 
both  as  to  quality  of  fruit  and  honesty  of  packing. 
To  insure. this  object,  1  hereby  GUARANTEE 
the  contents  of  this  package  to  be  the  same .  from 
head  to  head,  and  to  be  fairly  represented  by  the 
face  end;  and  1  fujther  authorize  my  consignees  to 
refund  the  money  paid  for  fruit  of  my  packing 
which  is  proved  not  to  be  according  to  brand,  in- 
jury in  transit  only  excepted, 

CO.  MILLER. 


FiQ.  153. — Another  guarantee  label  from  an  eastern  orchardist. 


292  ADVERTISING 


# 


Jrom 

%jke  S/reen  Jlills 

of  Vermont 


<z>Dimock  >ylpples 


FiQ.   154. — Outside  cover  of  an  advertising  leaflet  sent  out  by  Mr.  Julian  A.  Dimock,  of 
East  Corinth,  Vermont. 


PRINTED  MATTER  IN  FRUIT  PACKAGES  293 

has  that  ability  or  can  secure  it  in  any  way,  it  will  take  v\ith  an 
especially  good  class  of  customers.  Here  is  one  of  the  best  of  this 
type  (Fig,  154).    The  contents  of  the  leaflet  follow: 

We  think  that  the  apples  grown  in  this  orchard  have  a  little  the  best 
flavor  of  any  on  earth.  We  wish  that  you  could  see  the  heavily  laden 
trees  amid  the  beauties  of  the  prettiest  part  of  old  New  England. 

Dame  Nature  was  in  a  kindly  mood  when  she  fashioned  this  farm. 
She  tipped  the  best  land  to  the  east  that  it  might  catch  the  earliest  sun- 
shine, fed  it  with  springs  and  protected  it  from  the  cold  winds  by  placing 
it  in  an  amphitheatre  of  encircling  hills.  The  clover-covered  fields  stretch 
up  over  the  hill-tops,  wliile  below  them  woodlands  reach  down  to  the 
little  brooks  in  the  valleys.  Deer  come  into  the  fields,  and,  in  the  early 
mornings,  stand  and  watch  us  with  startled  gaze.  Scarlet  tanagers  build 
their  nests  in  the  apple  trees  and  sing  their  love  songs  from  the  branches. 
Mother  partridges  play  the  old,  old  game  of  the  broken  wing  when  we 
come  upon  their  little,  scuttering  broods. 

But  it  was  Aleck  Eastman's  love  for  his  trees  that  built  up  this 
orchard.  Forty-six  years  ago  he  and  his  wife  settled  on  this  farm.  Even 
in  the  first  year  Aleck  planted  a  few  trees,  for  he  had  inherited  the  love 
of  them  from  his  father.  He  planted  new  ones  and  trimmed  up  the  old 
ones.  Every  year  saw  a  few  more  trees  set  out,  while  his  neighbors  called 
him  crazy  for  using  good  land  tliat  might  be  made  to  feed  cows  for  his 
slips  of  trees.  But  Aleck  loved  his  trees.  He  imported  the  first  spray  pump 
that  came  into  this  county  and  began  to  kill  the  bugs  before  they  came. 
He  got  up  early  and  he  worked  late.  He  did  the  work  of  two  strong  men 
that  his  trees  might  not  suffer  wliile  his  farm  was  carried  on. 

Then,  just  when  the  orchard  was  coming  into  its  own,  Aleck  awoke 
to  the  fact  that  it  had  outgrown  him.  His  baby  trees  were  grown  to  full 
treehood  and  as  he  became  feebler  the  trees  demanded  more  and  more  work. 
He  could  no  longer  climb  to  the  topmost  branches  to  prune  and  spray  and 
pick.  He  had  never  hired  help  and  he  was  too  old  to  begin.  In  all  his  days 
no  one  had  come  to  see  his  trees  and  show  an  appreciation  of  his  work 
with  them  until  I  happened  along.  If  any  of  his  neighbors  bought  the 
place  they  would  begin  by  cutting  down  the  trees  that  he  had  spent  his  life 
to  bring  up.  He  could  not  carry  it  on  any  longer,  so  he  proposed  to  sell 
the  farm  to  me.    That  is  why  I  am  here  to-day. 

These  apples  tliat  Aleck  Eastman  raised  I  am  offering  to  you. 

They  are  good  because  Dame  Nature  was  thinking  of  apples  when  sha 
fashioned  this  farm. 

niey  are  good  because  Aleck  put  a  labor  of  love  into  tending  his  trees. 

They  are  good  because  the  rigors  of  the  winters  make  hardy,   full- 


294  ADVERTISING 

tlavored  fruit,  and  the  bright  sunshine  of  the  summer  lays  on  the  color  so 
the  apples  are  fair  to  see. 

Fameusb. — Of  the  varieties  which  we  grow  we  prefer  the  Fameuse 
(Snow),  for  we  think  it  grows  to  perfection  with  us.  Normally  this  is 
considered  an  early  fall  apple,  but  here  it  often  keeps  until  spring.  You 
know  it:  An  early  red  and  white,  fine-flavored,  crisp  eating  apple.  Small, 
but  full  of  spice. 

McIntosh  Red. — This  is  another  of  the  Fameuse  group  and  perliaps 
the  most  popular.     Dark  red  and  of  fine  flavor  for  dessert. 

Bethel. — Our  best  winter  apple  is  the  Bethel.  This  variety  originated 
witliin  thirty  miles  of  this  farm.  It  matures  late  in  the  fall,  is  a  dark  red 
color  and  one  of  the  best  of  keepers,  and  as  handsome  a  winter  apple  as 
one  cares  to  see.  It  resembles  a  Northern  Spy,  and  makes  a  splendid  eating 
apple. 

NoDHEAD. — The  Nodhead  is  another  of  our  favorites.  A  late  apple, 
it  is  streaked  with  red  and  makes  a  table  fruit  of  quality.  It  is  a  good 
keeper  and  should  please  you. 

Lincoln. — We  want  you  to  know  the  Lincoln.  It  is  a  trade-holder. 
But  that  is  next  year's  story,  for  this  is  their  non-bearing  year. 

We  shall  pack  the  fancy  grades  of  these  apples  in  western  style  as 
near  as  may  be  and  will  deliver  tliem,  freight  prepaid,  to  either  Boston  or 
New  York  for  $2.50  per  box.  We  will  appreciate  a  trial  order  and  ask  for 
a  check  with  the  order.  Our  personal  guarantee  goes  with  every  box.  We 
wish  to  replace  every  apple  that  arrives  in  damaged  condition,  through 
fault  of  ours,  whenever  this  is  possible. 

If  you  insist,  we  will  sell  you  a  barrel  of  our  Number  One  grade  for 
$4.50,  freight  paid  to  New  York.  Our  responsibility  ends  with  delivery 
to  the  transportation  company.  We  believe  in  our  Fancy  Grade  and  would 
rather  sell  it.     We  think  you  get  more  for  your  money. 

Julian  A.  Dimock, 
East  Corinth,  Vermont. 

Such  advertising  is  bound  to  attract  an  especially  good  class 
of  consumers. 

Recipes. — One  more  type  of  advertising  leaflet  may  be  men- 
tioned, and  that  is  the  one  which,  after  giving  some  general  in- 
formation about  the  fruit  and  where  it  was  grown,  proceeds  to 
suggest  ways  in  which  it  may  be  used.  Recipes  for  peach  ice- 
cream, peach  marmalade,  and  canned  peaches  may  be  put  into 
each  basket  of  peaches,  and  the  customer  who  bought  one  basket 
to  eat  out  of  hand  may  end  by  buying  a  half-dozen  to  put  up  for 
the  winter.     Here  is  a  sample: 


ADVERTISE  WITH  SAMPLES  295 

PEACHES. 

We  have  more  of  this  same  grade  for  sale.  Did  you  ever  see  finer 
for  the  money?  Why  don't  you  put  up  some  for  winter?  Here  are  a 
few  of  the  many  ways  in  which  they  may  be  preserved.  Try  some  of  them! 
You'll  be  glad  next  winter  that  you  did ;  not  only  when  there  is  unexpected 
company  for  supper,  but  when  you  feel  like  having  something  a  little  extra 
yourself ! 

Canned  Peaches. 

4  pounds  peaches. 
1  pound  sugar. 

1  quart  Avater. 

Put  the  sugar  and  water  in  kettle  and  allow  to  boil  a  few  minutes.  Add 
peaches  and  cook  slowly  until  soft.     Place  carefully  in  jars  and  seal. 

Peach  Marmalade. 
10  pounds  peaches. 

5  pounds  sugar. 
%  cup  water. 

Put  the  water  in  a  preserving  kettle;  add  the  fruit  and  sugar  in  alternate 
layers.  Heat  slowly  and  stir  and  mash  the  fruit,  breaking  it  up  as  mucli 
as  possible.    Cook  about  two  hours  and  put  away  in  small  jars. 

Pickled  Peaches. 

7  pounds  peaches. 

4  pounds  granulated  sugar. 

1  pint  vinegar. 

1  cup   spice — stick   cinnamon   and   whole   cloves. 

Tie  the  spices  in  little  cheese-cloth  bags.  Put  the  vinegar  and  sugar  in  a 
kettle  on  the  stove  and  stir  until  the  sugar  is  dissolved.  Then  add  the 
bags  of  spice  and  boil  for  20  minutes.  Add  the  peaches  which  have  been 
peeled.    Do  not  remove  the  pits.    Boil  slowly  till  soft.    Put  in  stone  jars. 

Bay  Road  Fruit  Farm, 

Amherst,  Mass. 

Advertise  with  Samples. — If  you  are  selling  apples,  and  pos- 
sibly pears,  there  are  great  possibilities  in  sending  a  single  sample 
fruit  by  mail  or  giving  it  away  at  any  store  which  is  handling  your 
fruit.  This  is  an  old  scheme  of  the  cracker  manufacturers  and 
the  breakfast  food  men  and  has  sometimes  been  resorted  to  by  the 


296 


ADVERTISING 


western  fruit  growers,  who  always  head  the  procession  in  such 
matters.  Of  course  some  advertising  matter  accompanies  the 
sample  saying  what  grade  it  is  and  giving  prices  for  this  and 
other  grades.  If  you  are  growing  something  like  Mcintosh  or 
Northern  Spy  apples,  that  are  bound  to  make  friends  when 
tasted,  this  sample  method  is  excellent.  Probably  no  one  would 
expect  to  sell  many  Ben  Davis  apples  in  this  way.  There  are 
two  considerations  which  ought  always  to  be  kept  in  mind  in 
using  this  method :  First,  that  it  will  not  pay  unless  one  has 
a  fairly  large  quantity  of  fruit  to  dispose  of,  and  second,  that 
great  care  should  be  exercised  to  see  that  the  sample  is  not 
better  than  the  stock  from  which  resulting  orders  will  be  filled. 
Window  displays  are  capable  of  selling  more  fruit  than  al- 
most any  other  method  if  they  are  rightly  handled.  To  begin 
with,  the  grower  must  get  a  window  in  a  good  store  in  which  the 

public  has  confidence.  The 
display  must  be  something 
unusual  that  will  at  once 
catch  the  eye  of  the  public. 
Fine,  highly  colored  fruit 
in  fancy  packages,  with 
perhaps,  in  the  case  of 
apples,  a  barrel  or  two 
with  the  fruit  pouring  out. 
Add  to  this  a  few  photo- 
graphs and  a  few  advertis- 
ing placards  and  you  have 
a  combination  that  will 
keep  you  busy  filling  orders  for  some  time  to  come.  One  grower 
in  Massachusetts  put  up  such  a  display  in  the  window  of  a  Boston 
store  and  within  two  weeks  received  five  hundred  letters  order- 
ing fruit  or  asking  for  prices. 

Newspaper  and  magazine  advertising,  if  it  is  done  in  a 
businesslike  way,  is  always  good,  provided  the  grower  has  fruit 
enough  to  justify  it.  Of  course  it  will  not  pay  if  he  has  only  one 
hundred  baskets  of  peaches  or  fifty  barrels  of  apples.  But  with 
reasonably  large  orchards,  and  especially  with  cooperative  asso- 


HAVE    YOU 

A   HANKERIN' 

for  those  f[^^^,  swKt  appleit  you   used  to 
knock  off  (be  tret  uilh  a  club  when  iheold 
min  »i'asn'i  looking  ^   That  was  back 
in  the  days^^hen  the  East— the  natural 
apple  country— -u-asproducingbumper 
crqpfl.    It  was  before  the  days  of  Ore- 
gon applei  that  hive  size  and  color,  but 
lack  the  real  flavor  of  Eastern  hillsides.    I 
have  rejovenated  a  Vermont  orchard  and  v 
have  for  October  delivery  a  limited  quantity 
tpplea  that  are  just  a  little  the  best  thai  i 
.  be  grown.    Drop  me  a  card  for  the  particulars. 
JUUaN  a.  DIMOCK,  EiJi  Corinth,  Vemxal 


Fig.  155.— a  magazine  ativertisement  that  ia 
sure  to  attract  attention. 


HAVE   DEALER    AND    BUYER    VISIT    THE    ORCHARD     297 

ciations,  there  are  great  possibilities  in  this  type  of  advertising. 
Like  the  leaflets  it  wants  to  be  good  material.  The  one  here  shown 
is  one  of  the  best  samples  the  writer  has  ever  seen  (Fig.  155) .  Of 
course  we  do  not  all  have  Mr.  Dimock's  ability  in  this  line,  but 
most  of  us  can  do  something  if  we  try  hard  enough. 

Have  the  Dealer  and  Buyer  Visit  the  Orchard. — If  you  are 
selling  fruit  througli  a  store,  or  even  a  commission  house,  get  the 
proprietor  and  even  his  head  clerk  to  come  out  and  see  the  or- 
chard. Take  them  out  in  picking  season  when  there  is  something 
worth  seeing  and  worth  eating.  Show  them  how  the  fruit  is 
grown  and  handled,  and  if  your  orchard  and  methods  are  worth 
shoMdng  you  will  get  these  men  interested  and  they  will  sell  twice 
as  much  fruit  as  they  would  if  they  knew  only  the  store  end  of 
the  business. 

QUESTIONS 

1.  What  is  the  advantage  of  naming  the  farm?     Suggest  some  good  names. 

2.  Of  what  value  is  the  farm  bulletin  board? 

3.  Discuss  the  use  of  the  package  label. 

4.  Describe  the  method  of  advertising  by  means  of  printed  material  in  tlie 

package. 

5.  Under  what  conditions  do  samples  make  a  good  method  of  advertising? 
(5.  Describe  the  window-display  method. 

7.  Discuss  newspaper  advertising. 

8.  ^^'hat  is  the  advantage  in  having  the  buyer  visit  the  orchard? 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
LAWS  AFFECTING  ORCHARDING. 

In  the  recent  wide  extension  of  the  legal  regulation  of  business 
the  orchard  industry  has  not  been  allowed  to  escape.  The  first 
of  these  fruit  laws  aimed  at  the  control  of  orchard  pests,  prin- 
cipally those  carried  in  nursery  stock,  but  to  a  certain  extent  those 
in  the  orchards  themselves.  The  later  laws  have  undertaken  to 
regulate  principally  the  packing  and  sale  of  fruit.  While  many 
of  the  first  laws  were  crude  and  while  some  of  them  have  been 
fiat  failures,  there  is  no  question  that  many  of  them  have  been  of 
marked  assistance  to  the  fruit  industry. 

PESTS  IN  NURSERY-STOCK 

Let  us  look  first  at  the  laws  in  relation  to  nursery-stock.  These 
have  been  of  two  types :  First,  those  which  required  the  examina- 
tion and  perhaps  fumigation  of  nursery-stock  coming  into  a  State 
or  nation;  second.  State  laws  requiring  the  inspection  of  nurs- 
ery-stock. The  value  of  an  examination  of  stock  is  quite  variable, 
depending  on  the  conspicuousness  of  the  pest  and  the  conscience 
of  the  inspector.  Where  the  pest  is  one  easily  seen  like  the  brown- 
tail  moth  for  example,  a  thorough  examination  ought  to  prevent 
absolutely  its  entry  into  a  State  or  its  shipment  from  a  nursery. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  a  pest  is  as  inconspicuous  as  the  San  Jose 
scale,  it  is  absolutely  impossible,  even  after  the  most  rigid  inspec- 
tion, to  say  that  the  stock  is  free  from  it.  It  can  only  be  said  that 
none  was  discovered.  The  value  of  such  an  inspection  as  this  last 
rests  on  the  fact  that  if  the  stock  were  badly  infected  the  inspector 
would  discover  it. 

When  a  pest  can  be  destroj^ed  by  some  treatment  of  the  nurs- 
ery-stock, such  as  fumigating  with  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  for  the 
San  Jose  scale,  the  treatment  is  of  far  more  value  than  the  best 
inspection  ever  given.  It  practically  guarantees  the  freedom  of 
the  stock  from  this  pest.  The  difficulty  is  that  so  few  of  our  pests 
can  be  destroyed  in  this  way. 


NATIONAL  LAWS  299 

Another  point  of  great  practical  importance  is  the  question  of 
what  shall  be  done  with  stock  found  to  be  infested  with  some 
serious  pest.  Such  stock  ought  either  to  be  treated  so  as  to  free 
it  from  the  pest  or  else  the  stock  ought  to  be  destroyed.  For 
example,  an  inspector  looking  for  San  Jose  scale  in  a  nursery  when 
he  discovered  the  scale  on  a  tree,  might  break  it  down  as  an  indica- 
tion to  the  nurseryman  that  that  particular  tree  was  to  be  dug 
out  and  destroyed.  But  immediately  adjoining  trees,  whose 
branches  might  interlock  with  those  of  the  tree  broken  down,  but 
on  which  the  inspector  failed  to  find  any  scale,  might  be  allowed  to 
stand  and  be  shipped  out  to  customers.  Such  an  inspection  is  ab- 
solutely worthless.  In  fact  it  is  worse  than  that,  because  if  the  pur- 
cliaser  knows  of  it  he  is  thereby  thrown  off  his  guard  and  is  less 
likely  to  discover  the  pest  for  himself. 

Local  Administration.- — Any  law  dealing  with  orchard  pests, 
whether  it  be  with  those  in  the  nursery  or  in  the  orchard,  is  much 
more  likely  to  be  of  value  if  it  is  administered  by  a  State  or  na- 
tional officer,  rather  than  being  left  to  a  local  official.  The  locally 
administered  law  is  absolutely  dependent  on  local  support  for  its 
effectiveness.  If  tlie  people  of  the  neighborhood  believe  in  it  with 
sufficient  zeal,  then  the  law  is  carried  out ;  if  they  do  not,  then  the 
most  zealous  official  is  powerless.  The  writer  has  seen  this  well 
illustrated  in  the  case  of  laws  against  the  black-knot  of  plums. 
When  public  sentiment  was  not  strong  on  the  subject,  black-knot 
flourished  undisturbed  even  in  orchards  immediately  adjoining 
the  highway. 

Nationallaws  are  likely  to  be  most  effective  both  because  of  the 
fact  just  suggested  and  because  such  a  law  brings  all  parts  of  the 
country  under  uniform  regulations.  For  example,  the  United 
States  has  a  "Quarantine  Act,"  by  the  provisions  of  which  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture  may  prohibit  the  importation  of  plants 
or  of  fruits  likely  to  be  the  means  of  introducing  into  this  country 
a  dangerous  pest.  The  following  was  Secretary  AVilson's  order 
prohibiting  the  importation  of  fruits  likely  to  bring  in  the  ' '  Mexi- 
can fruit  fly  " : 

The  fact  has  been  determined  hy  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  that  an 
injurious   insect  known   as  the  Mexican   fruit   fly    [Trypeta   ludens) ,   new 


300  LAWS  AFFECTING  ORCHARDING 

and  not  heretofore  widely  prevalent  and  distributed  within  and  throughout 
the  United  States,  exists  in  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  James  Wilson,  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  under 
authority  conferred  by  section  7  of  the  act  of  August  20,  1912,  known  as 
"  The  plant  quarantine  act,"  do  hereby  declare  that  it  Is  necessary,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  introduction  into  the  United  States  of  the  insect  known 
as  the  Mexican  fruit  fly  (Trypeta  luclens) ,  to  forbid  the  importation  into 
the  United  States  from  the  Republic  of  ]\Iexico  of  the  following  fruits: 

Sweet  limes  Peaches 

Mangoes  Plums 

Oranges  Guavas 
Acliras  sapotes 

Hereafter,  and  until  further  notice,  by  virtue  of  said  section  7  of  the 
act  of  Congress  approved  August  2'0,  1912,  the  importation  or  entry  into 
the  United  States  for  any  purpose  of  the  fruits  hereinbefore  named  and 
their  horticultural  varieties  is  prohibited. 

Done  at  Washington  this  15th  day  of  January,  1913. 
Witness  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

James  Wilsox, 
Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

As  soon  as  such  a  notice  is  given  the  fruits  affected  are  stopped 
at  the  port  of  entry. 


PACKING   AND   SALE   OF   FRUITS 

Canadian  Laws  and  Regulations, — In  the  reahn  of  laws  in- 
tended to  govern  tlie  packing  and  sale  of  fruits  the  Canadian 
' '  Inspection  and  Sale  Act, ' '  better  known  as  ' '  Fruit  Marks  Act, ' ' 
is  the  oldest,  the  most  far-reaching,  and  consequently  the  most 
worthy  of  study.    Its  chief  provisions  are  as  follows : 

The  MarJxing  of  Fruit. — 320.  Every  person  who,  by  himself  or  through 
the  agency  of  another  person,  packs  fruit  in  a  closed  package,  intended  for 
sale,  shall  cause  the  package  to  be  marked  in  a  plain  and  indelible  manner 
in  letters  not  less  than  half  an  inch  in  length,  before  it  is  taken  from  the 
premises  where  it  is  packed, — 

(a)  With  the  initials  of  his  Christian  names,  and  his  full  surname 
and  address,  or,  in  the  case  of  a  firm  or  corporation,  with  the  firm  or  cor- 
porate name  and  address; 


CANADIAN  LAWS  AND  REGULATIONS        301 

(b)  With  the  name  of  the  variety  or  varieties;  and, 

(c)  With  a  designation  of  the  grade  of  fruit,  which  shall  include  one 
of  the  following  four  marks,  viz.:  Fancy,  No.  1,  No.  2,  No.  3. 

2.  Such  mark  may  be  accompanied  by  any  other  designation  of  grade 
or  brand,  if  that  designation  or  brand  is  not  inconsistent  with,  or  marked 
more  conspicuously  than,  the  one  of  the  said  four  marks  which  is  used 
on  the  said  package. 

321.  No  person  shall  sell,  or  offer,  expose,  or  have  in  his  possession 
for  sale,  any  fruit  packed, — 

(a)  In  a  closed  package  and  intended  for  sale  unless  such  package  is 
marked  as  required  by  the  provisions  of  this  Part; 

(&)  In  a  closed  package,  upon  which  package  is  marked  any  designa- 
tion wliicli  represents  such  fruit  as  of 

(i)  Fancy  quality,  unless  such  fruit  consists  of  well-grown  speci- 
mens of  one  variety,  sound,  of  uniform  and  of  at  least  normal  size  and  of 
good  color  for  the  variety,  of  normal  shape,  free  from  worm  holes,  bruises, 
scab  and  other  defects,  and  properly  packed; 

(ii)  No.  1  quality,  unless  such  fruit  includes  no  culls  and  consists  of 
well-grown  specimens  of  one  variety,  sound,  of  not  less  than  medium  size 
and  of  good  color  for  the  variety,  of  normal  shape  and  not  less  than 
ninety  per  cent  free  from  scab,  worm  holes,  bruises  and  other  defects,  and 
properly  packed; 

(iii)  No.  2  quality,  unless  such  fruit  includes  no  culls  and  consists 
of  specimens  of  not  less  than  nearly  medium  size  for  the  variety,  and  not 
less  than  eighty  per  cent  free  from  worm  holes  and  such  other  defects  as 
cause  material  waste,  and  properly  packed; 

(c)  In  any  package  in  which  the  faced  or  shown  surface  gives  a  false 
representation  of  the  contents  of  such  package;  and  it  shall  be  considered 
a  false  representation  when  more  than  fifteen  per  cent  of  such  fruit  is 
substantially  smaller  in  size  than,  or  inferior  in  grade  to,  or  different  in 
variety  from,  the  faced  or  showTi  surface  of  such  package. 

Branding  Falsely  Marked  and  Falsely  Packed. — 322.  Whenever  any 
fruit  in  any  package  is  found  to  be  so  packed  that  the  faced  or  shown  sur- 
face gives  a  false  representation  of  the  contents  of  the  package,  any  in- 
spector charged  with  the  enforcement  of  this  Part  may  mark  the  words 
Falsely  packed  in  a  plain  and  indelible  manner  on  the  package. 

2,  Whenever  any  fruit  packed  in  a  closed  package  is  found  to  be  falsely 
marked,  the  said  inspector  may  efface  such  false  marks  and  mark  the  words 
Falsely  marked  in  a  plain  and  indelible  manner  on  tlie  package. 

3.  The  inspector  shall  give  notice,  by  letter  or  telegram,  to  the  packer 
whose  name  is  marked  on  the  package,  within  twenty-four  hours  after  lie 
marks  the  words  Falsely  packed  or  Falsely  marked  on  the  package. 

Fruit  Packages. — 325.  All  apples  packed  in  Canada  for  export  for  sale 
by  the  barrel  in  closed  barrels  shall  be  packed  in  good  and  strong  barrels  of 


302  LAWS  AFFECTING  ORCHARDING 

seasoned  wood  having  dimensions  not  less  than  the  following,  namely: 
Twenty-six  inches  and  one-fourth  between  the  heads,  inside  measure,  and  a 
head  diameter  of  seventeen  inches,  and  a  middle  diameter  of  eighteen  inches 
and  one-half,  representing  as  nearly  as  possible  ninety-six  quarts. 

2.  When  apples,  pears  or  quinces  are  sold  by  the  barrel,  as  a  measure 
of  capacity,  such  barrel  shall  not  be  of  lesser  dimensions  than  those  specified 
in  this  section. 

3.  When  apples  are  packed  in  Canada  for  export  for  sale  by  the  box. 
they  shall  be  packed  in  good  and  strong  boxes  of  seasoned  wood,  the  inside 
dimensions  of  which  shall  not  be  less  than  ten  inches  in  depth,  eleven 
inches  in  width  and  twenty  inches  in  length,  representing  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible two  thousand  two  hundred  cubic  inches. 

4.  When  apples  are  packed  in  boxes  or  barrels  having  trays  or  fillers 
wherein  it  is  intended  to  have  a  separate  compartment  for  each  apple,  the 
provisions  of  this  section  as  to  boxes  and  barrels  shall  not  apply. 

Inspector's  Right  to  Examine. — 327.  Any  person  charged  with  the  en- 
forcement of  this  Part  may  enter  upon  any  premises  to  make  examination 
of  any  packages  of  fruit  suspected  of  being  falsely  marked  or  packed  in 
violation  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Part,  whether  such  packages  are 
on  the  premises  of  the  owner,  or  on  other  premises,  or  in  the  possession  of  a 
railway  or  steamship  company. 

Offences  and  Penalties.— ^29,.  Every  person  who,  by  himself  or  through 
the  agency  of  any  other  person,  violates  any  of  the  provisions  of  sections 
320  and  321  of  this  Act,  shall  be  liable,  for  the  first  offence,  to  a  fine  not 
exceeding  twenty- five  dollars  and  not  less  than  ten  dollars;  for  the  second 
offence,  to  a  fine  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars  and  not  less  than  twenty-five 
dollars;  and  for  the  third  and  each  subsequent  ofi"ence,  to  a  fine  not  ex- 
ceeding two  hundred  dollars  and  not  less  than  fifty  dollars,  together,  in 
all  cases,  with  the  costs  of  prosecution;  and  in  default  of  payment  of  such 
fine  and  costs  shall  be  liable  to  imprisonment,  with  or  without  hard  labor, 
for  a  term  not  exceeding  one  month,  unless  such  fine  and  costs,  and  the 
costs  of  enforcing  them,  are  sooner  paid. 

2.  \Mienever  any  such  violation  is  with  respect  to  a  lot  or  shipment 
consisting  of  fifty  or  more  closed  packages,  there  may  be  imposed,  in  addi- 
tion to  any  penalty  provided  by  this  section,  for  the  first  offence  twenty- 
five  cents,  for  the  second  oflTence  fifty  cents,  and  for  the  third  and  each  sub- 
sequent offence  one  dollar,  for  each  closed  package  in  excess  of  fifty  with 
respect  to  which  such  violation  is  committed. 

329.  Every  person  who,  not  being  an  inspector,  wilfully  alters,  effaces, 
or  obliterates,  wholly  or  partially,  or  causes  to  be  altered,  effaced,  or  oblit- 
erated, any  marks  on  any  package  which  has  undergone  inspection,  shall 
incur  a  penalty  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  first  offence,  together  in  all 
cases,  with  the  costs  of  prosecution;  and  in  default  of  payment  of  such 
fine  and  cost  shall  be  liable  to  imprisonment,  with  or  without  hard  labor, 


CANADIAN  LAWS  AND  REGULATIONS  303 

for  a  term  not  exceeding  one  month,  unless  such  fine  and  costs,  and  tlie  costs 
of  enforcing  them,  are  sooner  paid. 

330.  Every  person  who  violates  any  of  the  provisions  of  sections  325 
and  326  of  the  Act  shall  be  liable,  on  summary  conviction,  to  a  penalty  of 
twenty-five  cents  for  each  barrel  of  apples,  or  box  of  apples,  pears,  quinces, 
berries,  or  currants,  or  basket  of  fruit,  or  berry  box,  respecting  which  such 
violation  is  committed,  together  with  the  costs  of  prosecution;  and  in 
default  of  payment  of  such  fine  and  costs  shall  be  liable  to  imprisonment, 
with  or  without  hard  labor,  for  a  term  not  exceeding  one  month,  unless 
such  fine  and  costs,  and  the  costs  of  enforcing  them,  are  sooner  paid. 

332.  Every  person  who  obstructs  any  person  charged  with  the  enforce- 
ment of  this  Part  in  entering  any  premises  to  make  examination  of  pack- 
ages of  fruit  as  provided  by  this  Part,  or  who  refuses  to  permit  the  making 
of  any  such  examination,  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  not  exceeding  five 
hundred  dollars  and  not  less  than  twenty-five  dollars,  together  with  the 
costs  of  prosecution,  and  in  default  of  payment  of  such  penalty  and  costs, 
shall  be  liable  to  imprisonment,  with  or  without  hard  labor,  for  a  term 
not  exceeding  six  months,  unless  such  penalty  and  costs,  and  the  costs  of 
enforcing  the  same,  are  sooner  paid. 

Explanation. — The  following  "general  notes"  are  also  of  in- 
terest as  explaining  and  interpreting  the  tenns  of  the  act: 

(a)  For  Inspectors. 

Inspectors  will  not  examine  particular  lots  of  fruit  at  the  request  of 
buyers  or  sellers.  When  not  under  specific  directions,  inspectors  will  use 
their  discretion  as  to  where  they  can  best  employ  their  time  within  the 
district  assigned  them. 

Inspectors  will  avoid  anything  which  would  delay  unnecessarily  the 
movement  of  fruit  or  which  would  interfere  with  the  interests  of  those  con- 
cerned in  the  fruit  trade,  except  in  so  far  as  action  may  be  necessary  to 
prevent  violation  of  the  Act. 

Packages  which  have  been  inspected  are  to  be  closed  by  the  inspector 
and  left  in  marketable  order  after  examination,  unless  the  owner  prefers  to 
take  charge  of  such  opened  packages. 

(b)  For  the  Grower. 

If  the  grower  sells  his  fruit  unpacked,  tlie  Act  does  not  apply  to  him 
in  any  particular. 

If  he  sells  his  fruit  in  uncovered  barrels  or  boxes,  the  Act  requires 
only  that  the  top  of  each  package  shall  be  no  better  than  the  fruit  throughout 
the  package. 


304  LAWS  AFFECTING  ORCHARDING 

If  the  grower  packs  his  own  fruit  he  accepts  the  responsibility  of  the 
packing,  as  described  in  the  following  paragraph: 

(c)   For  the  Packer  (the  Owner  at  the  time  of  Packing). 

Section  320  of  the  Act  requires  that  the  person  who  owns  the  fruit 
when  it  is  packed  in  closed  barrels  or  boxes  must  mark  plainly  on  each 


1.  His  name  and  post  office  address. 

2.  The  name  of  the  variety  of  the  fruit. 

3.  The  grade  of  the  fruit,  whether  it  is  "  Fancy,"  "  No.  1,"  "  No.  2," 

or  "  No.  3." 

If  he  marks  the  package  "  Fancy  "  the  fruit  must  be  practically  perfect, 
as  described  in  section  321   (6)    (i). 

On  reading  subsection  (6)  (ii)  carefully,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
packer  should  aim  in  packing  grade  No.  1  to  discard  every  injured  or 
defective  fruit,  and  not  to  deliberately  include  ten  per  cent  of  inferior 
specimens.  This  margin  is  meant  to  make  the  work  of  grading  easier  and 
more  rapid  than  if  absolute  perfection  were  exacted.  Ten  per  cent  is 
presumed  to  be  the  margin  within  which  an  honest  packer  can  do  rapid 
work,  using  every  endeavor  to  make  each  specimen  conform  to  tlie  general 
standard  for  the  grade. 

Even  the  twenty  per  cent  margin  in  grade  No.  2  must  be  composed  of 
specimens  not  less  than  nearly  medium  size,  including  no  culls. 

The  Act  makes  no  restriction  as  to  the  quality  of  fruit  which  is  marked 
"  No.  3." 

The  owner  at  the  time  of  packing  is  responsible  if  the  face  of  each 
package  does  not  represent  the  contents  as  required  by  section  321,  sub- 
section (c).  Over-facing  is  an  offence  against  the  Act,  which  is  most 
severely  dealt  with  by  the  courts. 

(d)   For  the  Foreman  of  the  Packing  Gang. 

Whether  he  is  putting  up  his  own  fruit  or  that  of  another  person,  the 
man  who  does  the  packing  is  required,  by  section  4  of  the  Order  in  Council 
printed  above,  to  pack  the  fruit  in  accordance  with  the  law.  He  should 
read  the  whole  Act  carefully,  but  should  give  section  321  special  attention. 
If  he  violates  these  requirements,  he  is  liable  to  the  fine  sjjecified  in  section 
5  of  the  Order  in  Council. 

(e)    For  the  Apple  Operator. 

Tlie  apple  operator  for  his  own  protection  should  sec  that  his  work- 
men are  familiar  with  the  Inspection  and  Sale  Act,  Part  IX. 

Section  4  of  the  Order  in  Council  is  a  special  protection  for  the  apple 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  CANADIAN  LAW  305 

operator  against  carelessness  or  fraudulent  •work  upon  the  part  of  his 
packers. 

Where  the  apple  operator  buys  apples  already  packed,  he  should  note 
particularly  that  the  fruit  is  marked  as  required  by  section  320. 

To  avoid  possible  complications  in  case  of  fraudulent  packing,  all  con- 
tracts should  stipulate  clearly  whether  the  apples  are  purchased  packed 
in  barrels  or  whether  they  are  purchased  to  be  packed  by  the  buyer. 

Apples  should  not  be  bought  or  sold  with  the  stipulation,  "  subject  to 
government  inspection."  There  is  no  such  thing  as  "  government  inspec- 
tion," meaning  a  "  certificate  "  or  "  report "  guaranteeing  the  quality  of  a 
particular  lot  of  fruit. 

Opinions  of  the  Canadian  Law, — There  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever  as  to  the  efficacy  of  this  act.  All  classes  of  men  in- 
terested in  the  orchard  industry  of  Canada  agree  in  endorsing 
its  main  provisions  and  in  commending  its  effect  on  the  fruit  in- 
dustry of  that  country.  B}^  way  of  evidence  on  this  point  the 
writer  has  taken  pains  to  secure  the  opinions  of  representative 
men  of  various  occupations,  some  of  which  are  here  given : 

From  the  Fruit  Growers. — "The  Fruit  Marks  Act  has  done 
and  is  doing  good  work.  The  longer  it  is  in  operation  and  the 
better  it  is  understood,  the  more  good  it  is  doing.  I  can  safely 
say  that  apples  are  now  much  better  packed  than  formerly. ' ' 

2.  "I  consider  the  Act  was  one  of  the  most  necessary,  the 
wisest  and  best  bits  of  legislation  bearing  upon  agriculture  that 
our  federal  government  has  put  through.  The  effect  of  it  at  home 
has  been  most  wholesome  and  though  there  have  been  a  few  most 
foolish  and  short-sighted  breaches  of  the  act  by  fruit  growers, 
yet  generally  speaking  it  has  made  them  very  careful  and  they 
realize  that  the  legislation  has  not  only  been  helpful  to  Canadian 
fruit  as  a  whole  but  has  been  beneficial  to  their  own  individual 
work. ' ' 

3.  "The  Act  is  certainly  a  good  thing  for  Canada,  as  it  has 
been  the  means  of  bringing  up  the  standard  of  Canadian  packing 
in  the  English  markets." 

From  a  Large  Dealer  and  Buyer. — "The  Act  has  certainly 
had  a  marked  effect  in  improving  the  packing  of  apples  by  keeping 
farmers  up  to  the  mark,  and  by  putting  inspectors  in  touch  with 


306  LAWS  AFFECTING  ORCHARDING 

the  bad  packers,  who  would  otherwise  continue  shipping  badly 
packed  fruit  to  the  detriment  of  the  good  packers.  It  has  also 
had  its  effect  in  warehouse-packing  and  checked  many  frauds. 
One  of  these  was  the  marking  up  of  the  grade  of  fruit  and  another 
was  the  branding  and  shipping  of  fruit  under  spurious  names  and 
marks.  Packers  are  every  year  having  a  more  wholesome  regard 
for  the  Fruit  Marks  Act,  and  I  look  for  a  steady  improvement  in 
the  pack. ' ' 

Fruit  Standardized. — Turning  now  to  the  officials  of  the 
Dominion  Department  of  Agriculture  we  have  several  opinions : 

Mr.  George  H.  Vroom,  Chief  Fruit  Inspector  for  the  Province 
of  Nova  Scotia,  says:  ''The  Fruit  Marks  Act  has  standardized 
the  pack  to  such  an  extent  that  Canadian  apples  average  from 
one  to  two  shillings  more  per  barrel  than  under  the  old  methods. 
It  has  aided  very  materially  in  the  formation  of  cooperative  asso- 
ciations, which  means  first,  last  and  always  a  better  and  higher 
grade  article  to  put  on  the  market.  And  this  improved  pack  has 
been  the  means  of  opening  up  new  markets  to  Canadian  fruit.  In 
short  the  Fruit  Marks  Act  has  succeeded  beyond  the  most 
sanguine  expectations. ' ' 

Professor  W.  T.  Maeoun,  Dominion  Horticulturist,  says: 
"While  the  Fruit  Marks  Act  has  not  yet  made  every  Canadian 
apple  packer  put  his  apples  up  in  accordance  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  Act,  yet  much  has  already  been  accomplished  in  this 
direction.  It  has  given  fruit  growers  standards  of  what  No.  1  and 
No.  2  grades  of  apples  should  be.  This  was  not  clearly  understood 
before  the  passage  of  the  Act  and  there  was  a  great  difference  of 
opinion  among  fruit  growers  as  to  what  constituted  a  No.  1  and  a 
No.  2  apple.  The  Fruit  Marks  Act  has  made  the  branding  of 
barrels  much  more  uniform.  Formerly  a  man  could  put  as  many 
Xs  on  the  barrel  as  he  thought  would  sell  his  fruit  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. Now  the  grade  marks  must  be  confined  to  No.  1,  No.  2 
and  No.  3  and  the  packer's  name  and  address  must  be  on  every 
closed  package.    This  we  consider  a  great  step  forward." 

Mr.  A.  McNeill,  Chief  of  the  Fruit  Division,  says:  "In  my 
opinion  the  Fruit  Marks  Act  has  revolutionized  the  packing  of 


UNITED  STATES  LAW  FOR  APPLES  307 

apples  in  Canada.  The  effect  of  it  has  been  to  establish  definite 
grades.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  have  been  thousands  of  dollars 
saved  in  law  expenses  alone  by  the  definiteness  of  the  definitions 
and  the  conclusiveness  of  them  from  the  fact  that  they  are  a 
matter  of  law.  The  second  benefit  from  the  law  is  that  the 
Canadian  pack  is  more  uniform  as  a  whole  than  it  would  have 
been.  Notwithstanding  the  many  violations  of  the  law,  and  not- 
withstanding the  wide  range  of  grades  that  may  be  packed  within 
each  of  the  grades  noted  in  the  Act,  it  is  now  being  recognized 
quite  definitely  in  the  markets  of  the  world  that  Canadian  apples 
are  in  the  main  of  the  quality  marked  upon  the  outside  of  the 
package. ' ' 

Mr.  McNeill  then  quotes  from  a  letter  received  from  one  of  their 
Canadian  Consuls  in  an  English  city  who  says:  "From  a  personal 
interview  with  a  dozen  or  more  firms  in  this  city,  selected  at  ran- 
dom, it  is  safe  to  say  that  this  English  city  consumes  $15,000  to 
$20,000  worth  of  apples  weekly  during  the  season  from  October  to 
the  middle  of  March  or  April.  Of  this  amount  about  three-fifths 
are  Canadian,  the  remaining  American.  Practically  all  of  these 
apples  are  bought  of  commission  men  in  Liverpool.  The  tendency 
of  the  trade  here  is  to  favor  the  Canadian  grower  and  packer,  the 
reason  given  for  this  being  that  Canada  exercises  a  supervision 
over  the  grading,  packing  and  branding  of  its  fruit  that  is  en- 
tirely lacking  in  the  American  product." 

United  States  Law  for  Apples. — This  is  certainly  very  strong 
evidence,  coming  as  it  does  from  men  in  so  many  varied  lines  of 
work,  and  it  is  small  wonder  that  the  United  States  has  made  an 
attempt  to  take  up  a  similar  line  of  work.  The  following  act  was 
approved  August  3,  1912,  and  everyone  connected  with  the  fruit 
industry  is  watching  its  effect  with  the  greatest  interest.  The 
chief  objection  to  the  law  is  that  its  standards  are  not  sufficiently 
high. 

An  act  to  establish  a  standard  barrel  and  standard  grades  for  apples 
when  packed  in  barrels,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Eepresentatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled.  That  the  standard  barrel  for 


308  LAWS  AFFECTING  ORCHARDING 

apples  shall  be  of  the  following  dimensions  when  measured  without  disten- 
tion of  its  parts:  Length  of  stave,  twenty-eight  and  one-half  inches;  diam- 
eter of  head,  seventeen  and  one-eiglitli  inches;  distance  between  heads, 
twenty-six  inches;  circumference  of  bulge,  sixty-four  inches  outside  meas- 
urement, representing  as  nearly  as  possible  seven  thousand  and  fifty-six 
cubic  inches:  Provided,  That  steel  barrels  containing  the  interior  dimen- 
sions provided  for  in  this  section  shall  be  construed  as  a  compliance  there- 
with. 

Sec.  2.  That  the  standard  grades  for  apples  when  packed  in  barrels 
which  shall  be  shipped,  or  delivered  for  shipment  in  interstate  or  foreign 
commerce,  or  which  sliall  be  sold  or  offered  for  sale  within  the  District  of 
Columbia  or  the  Territories  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  as  follows:  Apples 
of  one  variety,  whicli  are  well-grown  specimens,  hand  picked,  of  good  color 
for  the  variety,  normal  shape,  practically  free  from  insect  and  fungous 
injury,  bruises,  and  other  defects,  except  such  as  are  necessarily  caused  in 
the  operation  of  packing,  or  apples  of  one  variety  which  are  not  more  than 
ten  per  cent  below  the  foregoing  specifications  shall  be  "  Standard  grade 
minimum  size  two  and  one-half  inches,"  if  the  minimum  size  of  the  apples 
is  two  and  one-half  inches  in  transverse  diameter ;  "  Standard  grade  mini- 
mum size  two  and  one-fourth  inches,"  if  the  minimum  size  of  the  apples  is 
two  and  one-fourth  inches  in  transverse  diameter ;  or  "  Standard  grade 
minimum  size  two  inches,"  if  the  minimum  size  of  the  apples  is  two  inches 
in  transverse  diameter. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  barrels  in  which  apples  are  packed  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  this  Act  may  be  branded  in  accordance  with  section  two 
of  this  Act. 

Sec.  4.  Tliat  all  barrels  packed  with  apples  shall  be  deemed  to  be  below 
standard  if  the  barrel  bears  any  statement,  design,  or  device  indicating 
that  the  barrel  is  a  standard  barrel  of  apples,  as  herein  defined,  and  the 
capacity  of  the  barrel  is  less  than  the  capacity  prescribed  by  section  one  of 
this  Act,  unless  the  barrel  shall  be  plainly  marked  on  end  and  side  with 
words  or  figures  showing  tlie  fractional  relation  which  the  actual  capacity 
of  the  barrel  bears  to  the  capacity  prescribed  by  section  one  of  this  Act. 
The  marking  required  by  this  paragraph  shall  be  in  black  letters  of  size 
not  less  than   (seventy-two  point)   one-inch  gothic. 

Sec.  5.  That  barrels  packed  with  apples  shall  be  deemed  to  be  mis- 
branded  within  the  meaning  of  this  Act: 

First.  If  the  barrel  bears  any  statement,  design,  or  device  indicating 
that  the  apples  contained  therein  are  "  Standard "  grade  and  the  apples 
when  packed  do  not  conform  to  the  requirements  prescribed  by  section  two 
of  this  Act. 

Second,  If  the  barrel  bears  any  statement,  design,  or  device  indicating 
that  the  apples  contained  therein  are  "  Standard "  grade  and  the  barrel 
fails  to  bear  also  a  statement  of  the  name  of  the  variety,  the  name  of  the 


REGULATING  COMMISSION  MERCHANTS  309 

locality  where  grown,  and  the  name  of  the  packer  or  the  person  by  whose 
authority  the  apples  were  packed  and  the  barrel  marked. 

Sec.  6.  That  any  person,  firm  or  corporation,  or  association  who  shall 
knowingly  pack  or  cause  to  be  packed  apples  in  barrels  or  wlio  shall  know- 
ingly sell  or  offer  for  sale  such  barrels  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of 
this  Act  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  one  dollar  and  costs  for  each  such 
barrel  so  sold  or  offered  for  sale,  to  be  recovered  at  the  suit  of  the  United 
States  in  any  court  of  the  United  States  having  jurisdiction. 

Skc.  7.  Tliat  this  Act  sliall  be  in  force  and  effect  from  and  after  the 
first  day  of  July,  nineteen  hundred  and  thirteen. 

REGULATING    COMMISSION    MERCHANTS 

Another  type  of  law  which  has  recently  been  advocated  is 
that  which  attempts  to  regulate  the  business  of  commission  men. 
Probably  no  one  will  deny  that  there  have  been  many  abuses  by 
unscrupulous  men  of  the  commission  method  of  selling  fruit  and 
it  is  hoped  by  the  advocates  of  these  laws  that  some  at  least  of 
these  abuses  may  be  corrected.  A  bill  passed  by  the  New  York 
legislature  will  give  an  idea  of  what  is  attempted  in  this  direction. 
The  following  are  its  chief  provisions : 

1.  Every  person  doing  a  commission  business  in  farm  products 
is  required  to  take  out  a  license  with  the  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture. 

2.  The  Commissioner  may  refuse  to  grant  a  license  to  a  prod- 
uce man  whom  he  is  convinced  is  not  honest  in  his  business 
dealings. 

3.  Each  commission  man  is  required  to  give  a  fidelity  bond 
of  $3000  as  a  guarantee  of  honest  dealing,  and  farmers  may  collect 
from  this  bond  for  money  not  honestly  accounted  for  by  the  com- 
mission merchant. 

4.  The  commissioner  is  also  authorized  to  give  hearings  and 
to  examine  the  records  bearing  on  the  case  under  dispute. 

Laws  of  this  kind  have  long  been  needed  and  cannot  fail  to  do 
good.  Doubtless  there  will  have  to  be  many  changes  as  the  details 
are  worked  out,  but  it  is  certainly  a  move  in  the  right  direction. 

Many  people  object  to  all  these  laws  on  packing  and  selling 
because  they  say,  "You  cannot  make  a  man  honest  by  legislation." 
Perhaps  you  cannot,  but  if  you  can  "legislate"  him  so  that  he 


310  LAWS  AFFECTING  ORCHARDING 

acts  as  though  he  were  honest,  it  may  do  just  as  well  so  far  as 
selling  fruit  is  concerned. 

QUESTIONS. 

1.  What  two  types  of  laws  are  there  relating  to  orcharding? 

2.  What  two  types  regarding  nursery-stock? 

3.  What  are  some  of  the  difficulties  regarding  inspection  of  nursery-stock? 

4.  Compare  local  administration  of  these  laws  with  national. 

5.  Give  some  of  the  main  provisions  of  the  Canadian  "  Fruit  Marks  Act." 

6.  With  what  favor  has  the  law  been  received  by  growers?     By  buyers? 

By  officials? 

7.  Give  the  main   provisions  of  the   United  States   law   regarding  apples 

packed  in  barrels. 

8.  What    provisions    have    been    recommended    for    the    regulation   of    the 

commission  business? 


INDEX 


Acme  harrow,  95 

Advertising,  287 

by  recipes,  294 

by  samples,  295 

by  window  displays,  296 
Age  of  nursery  trees,  40 
Animals,  danger  to,  from  spraying, 

206 
Aphis,  149 

apple,  149 

cherry,  161 
Apple  barrel,  260 

presses,  263 

blotch,  167 

borers,  155 

box,  260 

canker,  168 

curculio,  151 

fly-speck  disease,  169 

insects,  144 

maggot,  154 

method  of  bearing,  120 

rust,  167 

scab,  165 

sooty  blotch,  169 
Apples,  grades  of,  258 

packing  in  barrels,  264 
in  boxes,  270 
Asparagus  as  a  companion  crop,  75 
Aspect  of  orchard  lands,  12 
Atmospheric  drainage,  12 
Atomic  sulphur,  197 

Baldwin  soils,  16 

Barley  as  a  cover  crop,  116 

Barrel,  apple,  260 

pump,  177 
Beans  as  a  companion  crop,  71 
Bearing,  methods  of  fruit,  120 

trees,  pruning,  136 
Blackberries  as  a  companion  crop,  75 
Black-knot  of  plums,  173 
Blister  mite,  158 
Blossoming  period,  spraying  during, 

149 
Blotch  of  apples,  167 
Bordeaux  mixture,  191 

nozzle,  185 


Borer,  apple,  155 

peach,  160 

pin,  157 

shot-hole,  157 
Borers  in  orchards,  82 
Brown  rot  of  plums,   peaches   and 

cherries,  171 
Buckwheat  as  a  companion  crop,  73 

as  a  cover  crop,  1 14 
Bud  moth,  151 
Bulletin  boards,  287 

Cabbage  as  a  companion  crop,  71 
Canadian  laws,  300 
Canker,  apple,  168 

worms,  152 
Census  figures  regarding  apples,  2 
Cherry,  method  of  fruit-bearing,  125 

packages  for,  262 
Clover,  common  red,  as  a  cover  crop, 
117 
crimson,  as  a  cover  crop,  117 
mammoth  red,  as  a  cover  crop, 

117 
to  add  nitrogen,  111 
Codling  moth,  147 
Color  of  fruit,  27 

in  sod  orchards,  79 
Commercial  lime-sulfur  solutions,  194 
Commission   merchants,    laws   regu- 
lating, 309 
Companion  crops  for  orchards,  67 
good,  71 
list  of,  70 
poor,  75 
Concentrated        lime-sulfur,    home- 
made, 195 
Conserving  moisture,  81 
Contact  insecticides,  1G8 
Cooperative  marketing,  283 
Copper  salts  for  sprays,  190 

sulfate,  191 
Corn  as  a  companion  crop,  73 
Cost  of  orchard,  63 
of  spraying,  210 
of  storage,  248 
of  thinning  fruit,  233 
Cover  crop,  barley  as  a,  1 16 

311 


312 


INDEX 


Cover  crop,  buckwheat  as  a,  114 
cow  peas  as  a,  114 
crimson  clover  as  a,  116 
mammoth  red  clover  as  a, 

li7 
peas  as  a,  119 
rape  as  a,  115 
red  clover  as  a,  117 
rye  as  a,  116 
soybeans  as  a,  118 
turnips  as  a,  114 
vetches  as  a,  117 
weeds  as  a,  119 
crops,  109 

best  crops  to  use,  113 
in  old  orchards,  226 
plowing  under,  113 
time  to  sow,  90 
use  of,  to  add  humus,  110 
nitrogen.  111 
to  check  growth  110 
to  hold  snow,  113 
to  prevent  washing,  109 
to  protect  windfalls,  102 
to  take  up  plant  food 
111 
Cow  peas  as  a  cover  crop,  114 
Cropping  the  orchard,  66 
Cultivating  old  orchards,  225 
Cultivation,  advantages  of,  81 
for  orchards,  95 
methods  of,  83 
time  to  stop,  87 
Culture  of  orchards,  77 
Currants  as  a  companion  crop,  73 
Curcuho  apple,  151 
plum,  151,  161 
Cutaway  harrow  for  orchards,  94 

Damage  during  cultivation,  88 
Disc  harrowing  instead  of  plowing,  85 

harrows  for  orchards,  94 

plow  for  orchards,  93 

type  of  nozzles,  185 
Diseases  of  fruit  trees,  163 

pome  fruits,  165 

stone  fruits,  171 
Distances  for  planting,  58 
table  of,  59 
Double-action  hand  pump,  180 
Drainage,  11 
Dressing  for  wounds,  140 
Drew,  George  A.,  fertilizer  formula 

of,  105 
Dry  sprays  vs.  liquid,  190 


Experiments  in  fertilizers,  101 
Extension  rod  for  spraying,  187 

Fall  pippin,  soils  for,  20 
plowing,  45 

advantages  of,  84 
setting  of  trees,  53 
Fertihty  of  soils,  81 
Fertilizer,  nitrogen  as  a,  102 
phosphoric  acid  as  a,  103 
potash  as  a,  102 
Fertilizers,  application  of,  106 
formulas  for,  105 
for  old  orchards,  223 
need  of,  101 
used  by  apples,  100 
Fillers,  61 
Five    blight    of    pears,    apples    and 

quinces,  169 
Fly-speck  disease  of  apples,  169 
Frost-proof  storage,  253 
Fruit-bearing  and  growth,  127 
method  of,  in  apple,  121 
in  cherry,  125 
in  peach,  123 
in  pear,  121 
in  plum,  125 
in  quince,  125 
Fruit,  keeping  quality  of,  254 

protection  by  cover  crop,  112 
storage  of,  245 
storage  types  of,  250 
trees,  diseases  of,  163 
wraps  for  advertising,  289 
Fungicides,  action  of,  165 

principal  kinds,  191 
Fungus,  types  of,  163 

Gang  plow  for  orchards,  92 

Gas  sprayer,  181 

General  market,  the,  281 

Gooseberries  in  orchards,  73 

Grades  of  apples,  258 

Grades  of  trees,  42 

Grading  fruit,  258 

Grafting  old  orchards,  220 

Grains  in  orchards,  75 

Grape-hoe  for  orchards,  99 

Gravenstein,  soils  for,  21 

Greening,  Rhode  Island,  soils  for,  18 

Grimes  Golden,  soils  for,  20 

Growth  and  fruit-bearing,  127 

and  pruning,  126 
Growth    checked    by    cover    crops, 
109 


INDEX 


313 


Hand  work  in  orchards,  88 

Harrows  for  orchards,  94 

Hay  in  orchards,  75,  77,  83 

Heading  trees,  55 

Health  of  trees,  26 

Heeling  in  nursery  stock,  50 

Hexagonal  method  of  planting  or- 
chards, 46 

Hitchings^  Grant,  culture  methods 
of,  77 

Home-boiled  lime-sulfur,  196 

Home-made  lime-sulfur  concentrate, 
195 

Home  spray  mixtures  vs.  commercial, 
189 

Hose  spraying,  186 

Hubbardston,  soils  for,  19 

Humus  added  by  cover  crops,  110 

Hydrometer,  194 

Implements  for  orchard  culture,  91 
Insecticides,  197 
contact,  198 
Insects  attacking  the  apple,  144 
the  pear,  157 
stone  fruits,  160 
effect  of  fall  plowing  on,  85 
in  sod  orchards,  82 

Keeping  of  apples  grown  in  sod,  78 

of  fruit,  29 

qualities    of    fruit,    factors    in- 
fluencing, 254 
Kerosene  emulsion,  199 
Knapsack  sprayer,  176 
Knife  for  pruning,  134 

Labels,  288 

Lands  for  orchards,  8 

Laws  affecting  orcharding,  298 

Laying  off  orchards,  47 

Leaf  curl  of  peach,  172 

Light-draft  orchard  harrow,  98 

Lime-sulfur,  commercial,  194 

home-boiled,  196 

home-made  concentrate,  195 

self-boiled,  196 
Low  heading  of  trees,  58 
in  sod,  79 

Macoun,  Prof.  W.  T.,  quoted,  306 
Magazine  advertising,  296 
Mangels  as  companion  crop,  72 
Market,  general,  281 
special,  280 


Marketing,  cooperative,  283 

fruit,  277 
Marshall,  A.  A.,  cultxire  methods  of, 

77 
Maturity  of  fruit,  proper  degree  of, 

254 
Mcintosh,  soils  for  the,  20 
McNeill,  A.,  quoted,  306 
Mice  in  orchards,  82 
Miscible  oils,  198 
Munson  and  Frost,  fertilizer  formula 

of,  106 

Newspaper  advertising,  296 
Nitrogen  added  by  cover  crops,  111 
as  a  fertilizer,  102 
forms  of,  103 
Northern-grown  nursery  stock,  39 
Northern  Spy,  soils  for  the,  19 
Nozzles,  185 

Number  of  trees  per  acre,  60 
Nursery  stock,  buying,  24 
in  orchards,  75 
trees,  age  of,  40 

southern-    vs.    northern- 
grown,  39 

Old  orchards,  renovating,  212 
Optimum  temperature,  34 
Orchard  culture,  77 

implements,  91 

insects,  142 

lands,  8 

sites,  8 
Orchards,  cropping,  66 
Outlook  for  orcharding,  1 
Over-production  of  fruit,  2 

Packages  for  apples,  260 

for  cherries,  262 

for  peaches,  261 

for  pears,  261 

for  plums,  262 

used  in  storage,  256 
Packing  apples,  262 

in  barrels,  264 
in  boxes,  270 

fruit,  258 
Paris-green,  198 
Peach  borer,  160 
Peach  leaf  curl,  172 

method  of  bearing  fruit  in,  123 

packages  for,  261 

scab,  172 


314 


INDEX 


Pear,  insects  attacking  the,  157 

method  of  bearing  fruit  in,  121 
packages  for,  261 

psylla,  157 

slug,  159 
Peas  as  a  cover  crop,  119 
Phosphoric  acid  as  a  fertihzer,  103 

forms  of,  103 
Pickers,  managing,  243 
Picking  and  handhng  fruit,  229 

equipment,  234 
Pick,  time  to,  apples,  237 
cherry,  240 
peach,  239 
pear,  239 
plum,  242 
Plant  food  held  by  cover  crops,  111 
Planting  boards,  49 
Plowing  in  fall,  45 

under  cover  crop,  112 
Plows  for  orchards,  91 

gang,  92 

types  of,  92 
Plum,  method  of  bearing  fruit  in,  125 

packages  for,  262 
Pome  fruits,  diseases  of,  165 
Potash  as  a  fertilizer,  102 

forms  of,  104 
Price  of  nursery  stock,  42 
Priest,   L.  F.,  fertilizer  formula   of, 

105 
Printed  matter   in    fruit    packages, 

290 
Prune,  how  to,  139 
Pruning,  120 

bearing  trees,  136 

general  principles  of,  126 

knife,  134 

old  orchards,  216 

saws,  131 

shears,  133 

summer,  127 

time  for,  137 

tools,  130 

young  trees,  135 
Psylla,  pear,  157 

Quality  in  fruit,  29 

Quince,  method  of  fruit-bearing    in, 

125 
Quincunx    method     of     laying     off 

orchard,  46 

Railroad  worm,  154 
Rape  as  a  cover  crop,  116 


Raspberries   as  a   companion    crop, 

75 
Recipes  for  advertising,  294 
Refrigerated  storage,  253 
Renovating  old  orchards,  212,  228 
Rhode    Island    Greening,    soils    for 

the,  18 
Rome  Beauty,  soils  for  the,  21 
Roots  protected  by  cover  crop,  112 
Roxbury  Russet,  soils  for  the,  22 
Rust  of  apples,  167 
Rye  as  a  cover  crop,  1 16 

San  Jose  scale,  144 

Saws  for  pruning,  131 

Scab  of  apple,  165 
of  peach  172 

Score    card    for    apples    packed    in 
barrels,  270 
in  boxes,  275 
commercial   variety    of 

apples,  24 
orchard  site,  8 

Self-boiled  lime-sulfur,  196 

Self-sterile  varieties,  31 

Setting  trees  in  fall,  53 

Shaw,  Dr.  J.  K.,  quoted,  33 

Shears  for  pruning,  133 

Slope  for  orchards,  12 

Slug,  pear,  159 

Snow,  held  by  cover  crop,  112 

Sod  culture,  77 

advantages  of,  78 

Soils  for  orchards,  9 

the  Baldwin,  16 
the  Fall  Pippin,  20 
the  Gravenstein,  21 
the  Greening,  18 
the  Grimes  Golden,  20 
the  Hubbardston,  19 
the  Mcintosh,  20 
the  Northern  Spy,  19 
the  Rome  Beauty,  21 
the  Roxbury  Russet,  22 
the  Tompkins  King,  20 
the  Wagener,  20 
varieties  of  apples,  15 

Soluble  oils,  198 
sulfur,  197 

Sooty  blotch  of  apples,  169 

Southern-grown  nurseiy  stork,  39 

Soybeans  as  a  cover  crop,  118 

Spike-tooth  harrow  for  orchards,  95 

Spray  pumps,  176 

Sprayer,  power,  180 


INDEX 


315 


Spraying  an  insurance,  206 

apparatus,  175 

campaign,  the,  201 

cost  of,  210 

in  bloom,  149 

materials,  189 

old  orchards,  227 

program  for  apples   and   pears, 
208 
for  peaches  and  plums,  210 

thoroughly,  20-i 
Spring  planting  of  trees,  53 

-tooth  harrow  for  orchards,  94 
Squash  as  a  companion  crop,  71 
Starr,  A.  C,  fertilizer  formula  of,  106 
Stewart,  Prof.  John  P.,  fertilizer  for- 
mula of,  106 
Stock  solutions  for  Bordeaux,  192 
Stone  fruits,  diseases  of,  171 

insects  attacking,  160 
Storage,  advantages  of  good,  245 

cost  of,  248 

frost-proof,  253 

plants,  246 

refrigerated,  253 
Storing  fruit,  245 
Strawberries  as  a  companion  crop, 

74 
Subsoil,  10 
Sulfur,  forms  of,  193 
Summer  pruning,  127 

Table  for  barrel  packing,  262 

for  box  packing,  271 
Temperature  for  storage,  247 
Tent-caterpillar,  153 
Thinning  fruit,  229 
Tillage  and  moisture,  86 
Time  to  prune,  137 


Time  to  spray,  204 
Tobacco  extracts,  200 
Tompkins  King,  soils  for  the,  20 
Tools  for  pruning,  130 
Trees  per  acre,  60 
Truck  crops  in  orchards,  72 
Turnips  as  a  companion  crop,  72 
as  a  cover  crop, 114 

United  States  laws,  307 

Varieties  in  old  orchards,  215 

of  fruits,  24 

number  of,  30 
Vermorel  type  of  nozzle,  185 
Vetches  as  a  cover  crop,  117 
V-shaped  cultivation  for  orchards,  99 
Vroom,  Geo-rge  H.,  quoted,  306 

Wagener,  soils  for  the,  20 
Washing  of  soils  in  sod.  80 

preventecl      by      cover 
crops,  107 
Water  drainage,  1 1 
^^'eeds  as  a  cover  crop,  119 
Whale  oil  soap,  199 
Wilder,  H.  J.,  quoted,  15 
Windbreaks,  13 
trees  for,  14 
Windfalls  in  sod  orchards,  80 
Window  displays  for  advertising,  296 
Winter  injury  of  roots  prevented  by 

cover  crops,  112 
Witch  grass  in  orchards,  95 
Wounds,  dressings  for,  140 
Wrapping  fruit  in  storage,  257 
Wraps  for  fruit,  289 

Young  trees,  method  of  pruning,  135 


«•  C.  State  College 


"^^ 


